The community of eMalahleni and surrounding areas came together for the first-ever white-collar boxing tournament hosted by Nextrep Fitness to develop the sport in the city and Mpumalanga province at large.

White-collar boxing is a form of amateur or semi-professional boxing in which men and women with day jobs train for and compete in boxing matches.

The tournament, hosted on November 7 at Action Sports, featured 8 teams from across the province that displayed incredible talent in the sport.

Nextrep Fitness head coach Johannes Rudolph explained that the tournament was about development rather than prizes.

“We are doing this to develop white-collar boxing in our town and province,” Rudolph said, adding that he believes the sport has been dormant in eMalahleni and they are trying to get more people to know about it so it can grow.

Read more: No waffle too big for eMalahleni contestants

He added that participating in the sport is not just to be able to fight, but also to improve one’s physical and mental health, among other things.

“This is a good sportsmanship sport. Yes, there is punching each other in the face, but at the same time you’re able to defend yourself, meaning it all also teaches one self-defence in cases of bad situations,” Rudolph said.

A new platform for local fighters

The host said everything went well.

“There was a lot of talent, and the turnout was also not bad, because that’s also what we are trying to grow. We are trying to get more people to know and be interested in combat sport,” he said.

Finishing an entire waffle tower proved impossible for ten hungry contestants within the tight time limit. Judges turned to the kitchen scales to settle who ate the most food. Read more here: https://t.co/ao5pBLv3Mz

— WitbankNews (@WitbankN) November 10, 2026

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