Former champ aims to revive boxing era
To take Mpumalanga boxing to another level, to where it had been once, among the best provinces after Gauteng and Eastern Cape, our very own former boxing champion who hails from eMalahleni, Lawrence "Super Bird" Ngobeni , speaking to Lowvelder, indicated that he was determined to assist other promising boxers.
“It is in my blood. It is what I love and coming from a boxing family made me who I am today. I believe that our province is very talented and we can
still produce good champions in this field,” said Ngobeni.
This publication learned that after he branded himself in the boxing industry, both nationally and internationally, he also put this province on the map. He is the manager of ABC Boxing Academy at eMalahleni.
“Working with experienced people in boxing keeps me going. We want to bring back the dignity of boxers in our province and make history again in sports and I believe that anything is possible.”
He said lack of sponsorship and financial problems, were some of the challenges
that forced good boxers to move to Gauteng and the Eastern Cape.
It needed serious attention and communities should be taught about the importance of sport.
“I started boxing when I was 13 and it wasn’t easy, but when you love
what you are doing you don’t give up. If we can get good support in terms of
sponsorship, everything will go well in boxing and those children we are
training won’t face the challenges that are faced by others at the same stage.
“Moving to another province is also a problem because people there don’t
know you, so it would be difficult to get a sponsor,” he said.
Meanwhile, three weeks ago, during the provincial indaba held at Protea Hotel at eMalahleni, the MEC for culture, sports and recreation, Sibongile Manana stated
that it was about time to revive boxing and take it to a higher level.
She said,”As government, we can’t be passive observers. We need to be involved in
this type of sport. This province has one promoter and five boxing clubs. This
is unacceptable when we previously managed to produce good champions.”
Ngobeni added that if all people who loved boxing united to support the sport, it was possible for Mpumalanga once again to produce boxing
champs.
