Get ready for Joburg’s first white collar fight night

Sir Stan’s Athletics Club will host the event that will give “non-professional, everyday” people the chance to “jump in the ring and spar for a few rounds” this week.

Fight night participants will only be allowed to enter the ring if they signed up for training sessions at the gym, which forms part of the Awethu Project incubator programme for entrepreneurs.

“People have to train at the gym prior to the fight night,” said trainee manager and Awethu Project graduate, Phillip Mashamaite.

“This way, we know that, with the help of experienced trainers, they are prepared to get into the ring.”

Mashamaite said the event would feature four amateur fights, with each fight lasting for three rounds, at two minutes per round.

“The reason for this is that these are your ordinary people who just want the experience of getting into a ring and sparring for a few rounds… Most of them are not 100 percent fit to last three minutes in the ring,” he said.

Three longer professional matches will also take place.

Spectators and boxers – amateur and professional – can look forward to a good social vibe as well as a few moments of glory in the ring.

“We have a deep and soulful house DJ by the name of Phil Goode who will keep us on our feet during and after the the fights, for the after party,” said Mashamaite.

Fight nights will take place every three months.

Speaking about how the gym fits into the Awethu Project, Mashamaite said it had been funded by the project through the Sefa Awethu Youth Fund.

The project, according to its website, takes people from under-resourced backgrounds and, after “proving world-class entrepreneurial potential” through a talent identification process, incubates and invests in the entrepreneur’s business.

“Through their support, the gym was able to attract more customers and slowly grow into the place that it is today,” said Mashamaite.

“There is still a long way to go, but we are on the right track [to] achieving our goal, which is [to make] Sir Stan’s the coolest, most fun place to work out in Joburg.”

The White Collar Fight Night will take place on 7 August at Sir Stan’s Athletics Club, 274 Fox Street, Maboneng Precinct, at 7pm.

Details: 081 756 6850; info@sirstansgym.co.za