The board of Boxing South Africa (BSA) has been dissolved following a meeting with the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie.
The decision followed what transpired when the BSA board appeared before parliament’s portfolio committee on sport, arts and culture to account on the regulator’s annual performance plan on Tuesday.
Several issues were raised in the committee, one being the litigation against the Minister by the National Professional Boxing Promoters’ Association (NPBPA) on the appointment of the board.
Initially, McKenzie had indicated that he was going to oppose the matter in court, but he changed his mind after he considered the money spent on the case. And after consulting with the outgoing BSA board, McKenzie decided against opposing the application brought by the NPBPA.
“I would like to express gratitude to the outgoing board for the sterling work that they have done during the few months they were in office,” McKenzie said.
“This decision is in no way a reflection on them or their efforts, but restarting the appointment process is now the most responsible thing we can do. I would like to thank them for their understanding of the decision and for putting the sport first.”
And McKenzie didn’t hide the fact that he’s totally opposed to the pittance that some boxing promoters pay to boxers after they had fought.
“It’s very troubling that boxers can get in the ring to risk their lives to earn as little as R4,000 for a fight. Boxing is one of the world’s biggest sports and we need to fix it in South Africa,” he said.
