Team Dida boxers raise the bar
All roads led to the Kagiso Memorial and Recreational Centre where the best of the best boxers in Gauteng took each other on in various divisional clashes.
‘Blood, sweat, disbelief and excitement’ best describes the elite boxing tournament held in Kagiso, west of Johannesburg, on 28 October.
The Kagiso Memorial and Recreational Centre became the centre of attraction on the day as all roads led to the hall where the best of the best boxers in Gauteng took each other on in various divisional clashes.
The hall was transformed into a world-class boxing arena, with great viewing for the audience who gave the local boxers the support they deserved.
Dubbed ‘Rumble in the Ghetto’, the tournament featured six enthralling bouts which consisted of two title matches and a number of performances of song and dance between the matches.
Dida Dipheko, a boxing trainer and promoter, walked away a very happy man after his four boxers emerged victorious from their respective fights.
Frank Rodrigues, trained by Dida, kick-started the show by knocking out Antonello Maree in the second round in 00.01.48 in a cruiser-weight fight scheduled for four rounds.
The second bout was a welter-weight thriller between Valentine Motunda and Alex Thapelo. The referee put a halt to the proceedings 42 seconds into the third round when Motunda gained victory via a Technical Knockout.
The third bout, for the middle-weight division, between Xolani Mvubu from KwaZulu-Natal and Augustine Motata, gave the audience several exciting moments as both boxers remained steady, although Mvumbu took a few hard punches which got him on the floor. A silly mistake resulted in a Technical Knockout after his gum-guard fell out, landing on the ring.
In the fourth bout, Mpho Turbo Seforo defended his Junior Flyweight Gauteng title against Thabang Pretty-boy Ramagole. This fight was much anticipated by boxing fans after a lot had been said about both boxers. Ramagole had been long waiting for this opportunity, and even started to doubt whether he would ever get the opportunity. Threats between the two boxers were put to bed during the fight as both fighters were eager to meet each other in the ring. Scheduled for 10 rounds, the fight was one of the most serious and brutal matches as both fighters bled during the course of the match. Ramagole came in strong in the first few rounds, but Seforo kept swinging his fast punches to distract Ramagole from his manoeuvres. It was in the eighth round that the tables turned against Ramagole. Seforo came back with hard-hitting punches, arguably launched at turbo speed. The clash concluded with a win for Seforo, who retained his title on points when the judges’ scores favoured him.
“I’m very happy with my performance even though there are certain things I couldn’t do, because Pretty-boy was very good as well,” said Seforo.
A disappointed Ramagole said he learnt a lot from the match and would go back to the drawing-board and fix his mistakes.
In the fifth bout, also in the middle-weight division, Fernando Rodrigues embarrassed Wynard Mulder, who was bashed until he threw up, suffering a TKO.
The sixth and main bout, a 12-rounder, saw Luthando Bullet Mbumbulwane from the Eastern Cape travel all the way to Johannesburg to compete against Thato Captain Charisma Bonokoane for the WBF All Africa Title. A very confident Thato promised to walk away as champion during the fight, but Luthando disputed the statement, saying that he was taking the title to the Eastern Cape.
Both fighters showed strength from the beginning, but Thato managed to be the better man on the day. He also had the home-ground advantage, thanks to his fans who gave him unwavering support.
“Honestly speaking, coming to this fight I was very confident, I knew that I should give it all my best just to win this title. I was very confident that I would walk out as champion,” he said.
He added that he also proved that the people who did not believe he would win the title since he was up against an Eastern Cape boxer were wrong. “They think because boxing is big in the Eastern Cape, they can come here and dominate. I proved that I stand for something in the sport,” Thato stated.
Dida, the boxing trainer, reflected on the tournament. “I knew my boxers were going to win. I was not expecting any losses from them,” he boasted. He added that his only worry was which round his boxers would win in.
He thanked the crowd for coming out in masses, and appealed for more support when he hosts another tournament on 16 December.
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