Little Jojo floats like a butterfly
Meet Randgate Boxing Club's new force to be reckoned with.
“Your will must be stronger than your skill,” is the motto Bandile Little Jojo Jojo lives by.
Little Jojo is a 15-year-old Randgate boxer who boxes for the Randgate Boxing Club which has produced many champion boxers over the years.
He started boxing at the age of 14 and has already proved to be fast and fierce in the ring, and is a boxing forced to be reckoned with. The reason he took up the way of the glove was because he always idolised Muhammed Ali – who needs no introduction.
He also feels boxing gives him the respect and focus he needs to succeed in his own life. “The things you see these days – kids doing drugs and not going to school. Boxing keeps me busy and doesn’t give me a chance to get involved in that,” he said.
What he likes most about the sport is winning, “I don’t like to lose. I train hard to win,” he said.
So far in his career, he has had three fights of which he has won two. He has won three medals – two gold and one silver – as well as one trophy earlier this year for being the best boxer at a tournament in Sebokeng.
“I won a silver medal once. I don’t want silver, I want gold,” he said.
As far as his training goes, he spends more time working on his upper body to improve his speed and stamina. “I love the speed bag. It’s important to have upper body stamina in the ring. How else will you keep your guard up all the time?”
In the ring, Little Jojo‘s signature move is his footwork. After studying Ali’s movements in the ring, he is able to mimic and use them to his advantage in the ring. Little Jojo may have only just started his boxing career, but he has already been accepted into the Gauteng Academy boxing team.
When asked why he has been so successful in the sport, he said he owes his success to his boxing coach. “I would like to thank my coach, Willie Consalves, for believing in me. A person who feels appreciated will always do more than expected,” he said.
Little Jojo has a brother who boxes at the same club, Thembelani Big Jojo Jojo. Big Jojo is three years his senior. The pair have big plans for themselves in the sport.
“What my brother and I are working towards is building a legacy for ourselves as the Jojo brothers. We want to be as well known as the Klitschko brothers. We also have plans to go to the Olympics,” Little Jojo said.
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