Veteran promoter Zandile Malinga does not believe SA will ever produce a unified world boxing female champion.
A promoter with almost 20 years of experience, Malinga was reacting to a question on whether SA could produce such a woman world champion.
She was frank in her response.
“I don’t think so,” said Malinga of Starline Boxing Promotion.
“Maybe 10 years from now, but hard work will need to begin now.
“If that were to happen here in KZN, we would then need to unite and have a five- to 10-year plan and be strategic.”
KwaZulu-Natal has four women SA champions, but Malinga says the budget from the government does not talk to that success.
“Not all of them will be able to defend.”
Malinga, Nomvelo Magcaba and Hlengiwe Dladla recently staged a women-only tournament in Mooi River in an attempt to attract women to the sport.
Another Boxing SA licensee – who asked to remain anonymous – questioned the passion of the regulator’s Women in Boxing Committee.
It comprises chairperson ad BSA board member Rina Subotzyk, Shereen Hunter, Keletso Totlhanyo and Zanele Mdodana.
But Totlhanyo, who is the head of SABC Sport, and her colleague and head of productions for SABC Sport, Orapeleng Lebethe, have made sure that the national broadcaster and its radio stations are present in most tournaments.
Some of the tournaments, such as the two that were staged by Terry Anne Hart at Silverlake Farm in Pretoria, were broadcast live, while others, like those of Malinga, Magcaba and Dladla, carried late broadcasts.
Veteran promoter Rodney Berman, who could not entertain a conversation about women boxing, sent his charge Simamkele Tuntsheni to Poland last month.
Tuntsheni, who won the IBO All-Africa junior-featherweight title last August, lost on points in an IBO world title fight to Lonika Laura Gryzb.
SA has produced an IBF world champion, fewer IBO and many WBF women titlists.
Just last weekend, England produced its unified woman champion when WBC lightweight champion Caroline Dubois dethroned Terri Harper as the WBO champ.
Dubois also walked away with the vacant The Ring belt.
American Claressa Shields has achieved remarkable success, winning unified titles in multiple weight classes, and she is the only female boxer in history to hold all four major world titles – WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO – in three weight divisions.
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