Unstoppable in the ring
Randfontein's very own female boxing star, Amorie Gonsalves, will be competing at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Amorie Gonsalves is a tenacious 18-year-old woman boxer who is fearless in the boxing ring.
The Herald reported in March last year that Randfontein will go down in the history books for being the first town in South Africa to have one of its female boxers participate in the Commonwealth Games. Amorie was hand-picked by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) to represent the country at the 2017 Commonwealth Games in Nassau, Bahamas.
According to Amorie, she has been faced in the industry with the notion that “boys think that boxing is a boys’ sport” but in her 12 years of experience, she has found that it is the women who stay committed and driven once they have joined the sport.
In the prime of her career, she has competed in various tournaments, including the Commonwealth Youth Games and the South African Championships, where she won two gold medals.
Amorie said her inspiration stems from Katie Taylor, an Irish female boxing legend, but closer to home, she is inspired by her sister who is also a boxer.
Boxing clearly runs in the family. Her coach and father, Willie Gonsalves, is also head coach of Randgate Boxing Club.
In continuing her family’s legacy she is an inspiration for women in sport and advises that in order to make it in this male-dominated sport people should ‘follow their hearts and work hard at reaching their dreams”.
Amorie will once again be fighting stereotypes on an international level as she will be and taking a shot at the title by competing and showcasing her talent in the 60kg weight division at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary from 21 to 31 August.
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