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“You have given boxing your soul, and we salute you.”
This is the heartfelt message from Boxing SA COO Mandla Ntlanganiso to successful veteran boxing trainer Norman “Hitachi” Hlabane, who was awarded a National Order by President Cyril Ramaphosa this week.
Ramaphosa awarded 80-year-old Hlabane the prestigious Order of Ikhamanga in Silver for his outstanding contribution to sports.
A former professional boxer, Hlabane honed the skills of many boxers, including his first provincial champion Bobby Chisale, who held the junior middleweight belt; Peter Mgojo (SA welterweight), Nat Moloi, Jabulani Malinga, Siza Makhathini, Paul Ditau Molefyane, Jerry Malinga, Peter, Patrick and Vusi Malinga, David Potsane, Dingaan Thobela, Lehlohonolo Ledwaba, Johnson Tshuma, Mbwana and Rashid Matumla, Gert Strydom, Nick Durandt, Isaac Wilson, Patrick Thwala and Nestor Tobias.
“These are not merely fighters. They are legends. And behind every legend stands a man like Norman Hlabane,” said Ntlanganiso.
“To know Bro Knox is to understand the very heartbeat of South African boxing. A pugilist of rare insight and unshakable resolve, he did not merely participate in the sport, he helped forge its modern legacy.
“From the corner to the canvas, from township gyms to the world’s grandest stages, his fingerprints are on some of the most seismic moments in local boxing history.”
A former boxer himself, Ntlanganiso from Mdantsane added: “In a glittering ceremony that honoured outstanding contributors to sport and the arts, Bro Knox stood tall among giants, his decades of sacrifice, sweat and silent mentorship finally receiving the national acclaim they have long deserved.”
Hlabane, whose boxer Khaya “Destroyer” Busakwe is the only national champion from Soweto right now, said: “This is bittersweet because it happens my boys, especially Dingaan and Ledwaba, are no longer here with us; it would have been lovely to celebrate with them.
”I am here all because of their hard work and determination. Hopefully they can see the fruits of their hard work.”
Thobela won the WBO and WBA world lightweight belts under Hlabane, while Ledwaba chalked up four successful defences of his IBF world junior featherweight belt under the veteran mentor.
They were together when Filippino Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao ended Ledwaba’s reign in 2001, and even when Ledwaba defeated Vuyani “The Beast” Bungu for the WBU belt featherweight title in 2002.
Sowetan
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