Hard work pays off for SA boxing champs
Two boxers from the Krugersdorp West Boxing Club recently won the South African Boxing Championships.
Two boxing champs in one club – that’s what the Krugersdorp West Boxing Club has to brag about these days.
The 12-year-old Ryan Botha and 16-year-old Jano Mbuyi won the School Age and Junior Age championships respectively at the Gauteng West Boxing Championships in Sebokeng recently.
After winning, they were chosen to take part in the South African Boxing Championships, where they competed against participants from Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Western Cape and North West.
At the South African Championships, Ryan walked away with the School Age title and Jano was the Junior Age boxing champion.
Their coach, Charles Charlez went to the South African Championships with them and said that no tournament is easy and this one was no different, but with little sleep and lots of hard work, the boys came out on top.
Ryan explained that he started boxing two years ago.
“I used to do gymnastics but my dad and I thought that I would be a good boxer,” he explained.
Ryan’s favourite part of boxing is sparring with the rest of the boxers at his club. He also believes to be a good boxer you have to exercise a lot and be very fit.
He exercises three times a week and when at home he runs, does push-ups and attacks the punching bag.
Mohammad Ali is his role-model and he plans on boxing until he is 60 years old.
“I will retire when I have a big house, a lot of money and a family,” Ryan explained excitedly. “I have been boxing since 2016,” said Jano. He said that he was introduced to boxing by one of his friends and he enjoys the benefits, like training, winning a fight and the support from friends and family the most.
“There are just so many things that boxing has given me,” Jano said proudly.
According to Jano, being a good boxer requires a lot of training. He said that to him boxing is one of the hardest sports in the world.
“You have to be dedicated and train very hard,” he said.
Gervonta Davis is currently his favourite boxer. Apart from training three times a week, Jano trains with his younger brother at home. They do push-ups, sit-ups and some road work.
“I want to be a world champion some day. I plan on retiring at 40, but I want to be a world champion first,” he said.
He would like to encourage more kids out there to take up boxing, because it is a really nice and fun sport that keeps kids of the streets.
If you would like to join them, you can contact Susan da Silva on 082 681 9153 or 071 411 2727.
