Sports minister Nathi Mthethwa has announced that boxing tournaments can return to action.
The news has been welcomed by the boxing fraternity which was increasingly getting frustrated since boxing is one of the sports which have been given the green light later than other forms of contact sport.
With boxers needing a minimum of six weeks to prepare themselves to get into boxing condition, the hope of any boxing taking place this year was fast evaporating and even at this stage a lot of work under a short space of time needs to be done to ensure that everyone is the fraternity is ready come tournament time.
Action in the ring might only therefore happen late September or early October.
Golden Gloves Promotions event coordinator Jeffrey Ellis echoed the above sentiments.
“Everything is starting to open up a bit but it come with a lot of rules and regulations to follow. The sport needs to start up or we all will go nuts. It’s going to be tough to get back but we have to: we’re hoping to resume around October 9.”
Meanwhile, South Africa’s iconic boxer and respected trainer Harold Volbrecht, who heads the running of the Hammer boxing gym in Boksburg, has said he will waste little time in going back to work.
“I’m going to have a word with Rodney Berman [Golden Gloves Promotions boss] soon to find out when he’ll possibly organise the first tournament so I can start preparing the boxers.
“Most of the boxers are fine as they have punching bags at home and they all do roadwork. I’ll be opening the gym very soon,” explained Volbrecht, before highlighting his struggles with the Coronavirus-related national lockdown.
“I really do not understand all the drama. Maybe it’s because I’m a boxer and got hit too much on the head.
“I’m asked to wear my mask in the street at all times and I’m asked to wear it when I go to a shopping complex at all times. But I can go back to the same shopping complex, go to a restaurant with people and I’m allowed to take my mask off, it really doesn’t make sense to me.I don’t understand it.”
The Hammer gym consists of boxers the likes of Johnny Muller, Tristan Truter and Tommy Oosthuizen within its stable.
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