Chairman of the Gauteng Boxing Promoters Association (GBPA) Tshele Kometsi of TK Boxing Promotions says that Saturday’s lunch with veterans was an eye-opening experience.
The event was held at the Uncle Tom’s Community Centre in Orlando West, Soweto. Yesteryear boxing heroes shared their experiences with the audience, which included chairman of the board of Boxing South Africa (BSA) Luthando Jack as well as Dr Peter Ngatane, vice-president of the African Boxing Union (ABU).
“The idea was to honour those that paved the way before us. It’s very rare that these veterans get acknowledged,” Kometsi said.
“It was really to thank them for what they have done for us. They shared their stories with us and told us about a number of things we didn’t know.”
Kometsi said that Saturday’s event was the continuation of GBPA’s programmes. GBPA is going to identify a community in the Gauteng squatter camps and feed kids there in June. Active boxers will tag along and conduct mini clinics.
“There are other events of a similar nature that are going to come. As Gauteng Boxing Promoters Association, from the conference we took a resolution that we must engage different stakeholders in boxing. We engaged boxers by paying their licence and medical fees. We have programmes every month,” Kometsi revealed.
