Charity boxer at centre of cancer controversy
Accusations made against charity boxer over her health.
Local charity boxer, cancer sufferer and fund-raiser Lisa van Loggerenberg (22) is the centre of a social media controversy, following accusations involving the South African Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and boxing community, and her state of health.
Following attempts to contact van Loggerenberg and her mother, Sonia, we were advised that after discussions with their lawyers they would not be commenting to the media at this stage.
In late July, the City Times carried a story about her preparations ahead of her first female bantamweight fight at Ruben Groenewald’s White Collar Boxing tournament, in Kibler Park.
The story carried extra weight as the fighter, dubbed “The Pink Gladiator”, had been training at Northmead’s Thai Combat Gym (TCG) for only a month — despite her battle with stage three breast cancer at the time — and was ready for her big fight night on August 1.
It was here that she mentioned selling “The Pink Gladiator” merchandise for the benefit of Little Fighters Cancer Trust.
She mentioned, on Facebook, in late August, that the cancer had spread and that she was now a stage four cancer sufferer.
A press release issued to various media houses and on Facebook by Dr Santa-Marié Venter, a medical doctor from Pretoria and current Banyana Banyana team doctor, questioned, among other things, the quickness of van Loggerenberg’s recovery times from chemotherapy, particularly in one instance, where she received treatment just days before training for a boxing match.
Further allegations involving her health and the processes followed regarding treatment of the disease from stage one to stage four were made by Venter.
In a response to Venter’s press release, The Little Fighters Cancer Trust stated that it wished to clear up any confusion about their involvement with van Loggerenberg, as alluded to in the release.
They mentioned that, in the instance where their organisation was mentioned on www.benonicitytimes.co.za, they were, indeed, aware of the fact that van Loggerenberg was attempting to raise funds for them.
It was stated that the non-profit organisation was aware of only two fund-raising initiatives:
- The proceeds from sales of Pink Gladiator merchandise would be donated to the organisation.
- The inclusion of the charity at the “Be Fit and Fab Expo” in Pretoria, to create awareness and raise funds during the weekend of September 20 and 21.
The amount of R1 957 was raised at the expo, while another envelope containing R3 000 in cash was handed to a charity representative.
- The City Times will provide more clarity as more details emerge.
Previous article: Giving cancer a knuckle sandwich
