By Monwabisi Jimlongo
Despondency caused by inactivity has brought only frustration to former South African bantamweight champion Toto Helebe.
Fight-starved Helebe is yet to taste action since he defeated Pfariso Neluvhalani in January 2019.
“It’s frustrating. It’s getting tougher and tougher for me. I have not fought in a long time,” Cape Town-based Helebe said.
Originally from Cala in the Eastern Cape, Helebe quit his job at Transpharm in the Mother City earlier this year to concentrate on his training as he was preparing for a South African featherweight title fight against Thembani Mbangatha.
But that proved to be a big mistake as the showdown with Mbangatha never materialised.
“I was working at Transpharm delivering medication to different hospitals. I left my job because I wanted to focus on training for my fight against Mbangatha. That was a big mistake because the fight never took place,” Helebe revealed.
“I will continue training even though it’s difficult. Not having a sponsorship has also made things more difficult. Even the COVID-19 relief fund has not paid me. Instead, they have advised me to reapply.”
Helebe is an unlucky boxer as he had two fights – against Lerato Dlamini and Asanda Gingqi – postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
