It was a tournament that most KwaZulu-Natal boxing followers were looking forward to, however, failure to deposit purses on time has delivered a knockout blow to Friday’s Starline Boxing Promotions show as it has since been cancelled.
This tournament was scheduled to be held at the Greenwood Park Hall in Durban and it was going to be the first show in KwaZulu-Natal this year.
Ink Sport can reveal that the tournament was cancelled on Tuesday and a letter was sent to Starline Boxing Promotions boss Zandile Malinga, who is the secretary of the National Professional Boxing Promoters Association (NPBPA).
“I can confirm that the tournament has been cancelled. The promoter received communication to that effect earlier this week,” BSA spokesperson Luthando Zibeko confirmed.
Apparently, efforts were made to rescue the situation and ensure that the tournament takes place on Friday, but the BSA board stuck to its guns as the purses should have been deposited into the regulator’s account two weeks ago.
“This is heart-breaking. This is wrong and something like this should never happen,” a boxer who was going to take part in the tournament told Ink Sport.
Professional boxing and the people who “run” it in this country are a literal joke. A LITERAL joke. I have zero respect for it or them. Zero. None. Nada. Nothing.
If the tournament was cancelled on Tuesday why delay to inform the boxers until Thursday evening. The boxers had been training for so long and were starved all day on Thursday waiting to weigh in thinking the tournament was still on. They have no respect for the boxers!