Abongile Lubambo’s handlers have withdrawn the complaint they lodged to Boxing South Africa (BSA) following her stoppage loss to Azasakhe Jamani early last month.
Team Lubambo had complained to BSA arguing that fight referee Simphiwe Gceba had erred by ending the bout prematurely. They further argued that their boxer was decked by an illegal blow and alleged that Gceba did nothing to protect her.
Last month’s letter from Team Lubambo read: “This email serves as a formal complaint for the bout that happened between Abongile Lubambo and Azasakhe Jamani in the tournament held by Xaba Boxing Promotions which was held on 01/10/2023 at the Orient Theatre.
“As Team Lubambo we are hereby appealing the decision made by the referee of this bout. Our boxer was punched behind the head which is a dangerous and illegal blow in the 2nd round of the fight. Instead of ruling that as no knockdown, warning the opponent and giving our charge up to 5 minutes to recover, the referee started counting for our boxer. Not only that, after our boxer survived the 8 count the referee asked if she was ready to continue and the boxer responded positively, then out of the blue the referee waved the fight off without a reason. Team Lubambo would like Boxing South Africa to order an immediate rematch between the two boxers as we feel the referee erred massively on this bout.”
A member of Team Lubambo said on Tuesday: “BSA gave us a directive on how you review a fight and financial challenges made us to think twice about the review as we felt that it was a four-round fight anyway.”
Contacted for comment, BSA Eastern Cape provincial manager Phakamile Jacobs said: “I have not received any correspondence regarding them withdrawing the complaint. In fact, the withdrawal of the complaint is good because they had no case to start with.”
