Championship belts belonging to the late former South African and world champion Lwandile ‘Angel’ Sityata will be returned to his family more than 18 months after they were separated from him.
Ekurhuleni-based boxing trainer Harry Ramogoadi-Manaka, who kept Sityata’s belts, has agreed to return them. Sityata revealed in March last year that Ramogoadi-Manaka, his former trainer, had refused to return his five belts.
At issue was a 25 percent of the purse Sityata earned during his loss to SA bantamweight champion Ronald Malindi in March 2020.
Sityata insisted, at the time, that Ramogoadi-Manaka didn’t deserve to get a cent from him because he had played no part in preparing him or securing the fight against Malindi.
“I will be coming to the funeral. I’m going to get the belts over because it’s only fitting that they must have them,” Ramogoadi-Manaka said.
Ramogoadi-Manaka, the chief executive officer at VIP Boxing Academy in Benoni, Ekurhuleni, added: “I loved the boy. He was so dear to my heart. I’m trying to put things behind. Right now, he’s no more.”
Sityata, a former SA flyweight, International Boxing Organisation (IBO) and World Boxing Federation (WBF) junior-bantamweight champion, passed away at the Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in Mdantsane on Friday. He was admitted at the Cecilia Makiwane Hospital following a hit and run car accident on Monday morning.
Apart from being an SA flyweight, IBO and WBF junior-bantamweight title holder, Sityata once held the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) International bantamweight, World Boxing Association (WBA) Pan-African flyweight and junior-featherweight crowns.
His last fight was the loss to Malindi and Sityata is the only South African boxer to have beaten current national flyweight champion Jackson ‘M3’ Chauke.
Sityata had a professional record of 24 victories with seven of those wins coming from knockouts against four defeats and a single draw.
