By Monwabisi Jimlongo
His world title bout against then unbeaten Mexican boxer Hector Flores last September won the IBF Fight of Year award.
He later went on to claim the Male Boxer of the Year award at the South African Boxing Awards following his victory over Flores in an IBF junior-flyweight title contest in September last year.
Yet, with all these world and national achievements, boxing champion Sivenathi ‘Special One’ Nontshinga was deemed not good enough to even crack a nomination in the Sports Star of the Year category at the Eastern Cape Sport and Recreation Achievers Awards.
Apparently, his massive achievements and being the only South African boxer to hold a title from one of the world’s top four boxing bodies amounted to nothing to the awards organisers and the members of the adjudication panel, who are obviously immune to rewarding excellence.
One even doubts that any of the members of the adjudication panel were aware that Nontshinga made his first defence of his IBF belt in front of his home fans when he defeated Filipino boxer Regie ‘Filipino Phenom’ Suganob at the East London International Convention Centre (ICC) in July.
I also suspect that the members of the awards adjudication panel have never heard of something called common sense or maybe they don’t even know who Nontshinga is otherwise they wouldn’t have turned a blind eye to his achievements. It might also happen that they are there in the adjudication panel just to enjoy the perks and not apply their minds.
That Nontshinga received the MEC Special Award was in fact a by the way. It was just done to appease his management team.
The fact that the organisers of Friday’s event failed to even communicate with Nontshinga’s handlers regarding the MEC Special Award bears testimony to the fact that they NEVER had him in mind.
For the record, DSRAC only communicated with Nontshinga’s handlers after a member of his management team made enquiries about the award last Saturday.
Members of the adjudication panel, who flatly refused to include Nontshinga in the Sports Star of the Year category, should hang their heads in shame for depriving him an award that rightfully belongs to him.
Anyway, these are the same Sport and Achievers Awards where a member of the adjudication panel got nominated and then walked away with an award. Interestingly, none of the members of the adjudication panel saw anything wrong with that.
Let me repeat, iMEC Special Award ibiyinto nje yokudlulisa usana kunina.
NB: Monwabisi Jimlongo is founder and editor of Ink Sport
