The costs of staging boxing tournaments during the times of the COVID-19 pandemic are adding more stress to promoters.
Other than paying purses, airtickets and accommodation, promoters also have to dig deeper into their pockets to cover costs of a bio-bubble.
This is the same thing that is going to happen to Rumble Africa Promotions (RAP) as the promotional company is preparing to stage an International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior-flyweight elimination bout between Sivenathi ‘Special One’ Nontshinga and Christian ‘The Bomb’ Araneta from the Philippines.
Unbeaten Nontshinga and Araneta are going to fight at the Boardwalk Hotel in Gqeberha on Sunday, 25 April.
“During normal times, international boxers arrive in the country seven days before a tournament. Also you don’t accommodate local boxers and their trainers. However, things have changed now as we are going to have a bio-bubble. That means we are going to incur more costs,” RAP chief executive officer Nomfesane Nyatela said.
Araneta and his handlers are expected to land in Gqeberha either on the 10th or 11th of April – two weeks before the tournament. They are going to be accommodated at the Boardwalk Hotel together with local boxers and their trainers.
A separate wing at the hotel is going to be needed to make sure that boxers don’t come into contact with people from outside.
Being in the Nelson Mandela Bay city for two weeks is going to help boxers acclimatise to the unpredictable Gqeberha weather.
