It was a rare sight as rival boxing trainers Colin ‘Nomakanjani’ Nathan and his counterpart Mzamo ‘Chief’ Njekanye met at Hot Box Gym in Johannesburg on Thursday.
A meeting of the two trainers is something unheard of because of a history of animosity between them. Their animosity started after Xolisani ‘Nomeva’ Ndongeni and Azinga ‘Golden Boy’ Fuzile bolted out of Njekanye’s gym in Duncan Village, East London, to team up with Nathan in Johannesburg a few years ago.
Both Ndongeni and the 25-year-old Fuzile, a former South African featherweight champion, have since returned to Njekanye’s stable.
And on Thursday Njekanye had accompanied Ndongeni to go spar with some of the Hot Box Gym boxers. Ndongeni, an erstwhile International Boxing Organisation (IBO) lightweight champion, is preparing for his fight against Filipino boxer Reymond Yanong, which is going to be held at The Galleria in Sandton, Johannesburg, on Thursday next week.
“Nomeva does what he always does in Johannesburg. He went there for sparring purposes,” Njekanye said when he was contacted by Ink Sport.
Nathan said: “I don’t know where you got this from. Yes, Mzamo was here at my gym. He came here with Nomeva. Remember, Nomeva spars with some of the boxers at my gym. Mzamo and I had a brief chat about boxing and boxers.”
Meanwhile, Ndongeni will be fighting for the first time since his win over Malawian boxer Israel Kammwamba at the Ingwenyama Lodge, White River, last December.
