By Monwabisi Jimlongo
Boxing legend Vuyani Bungu loves the fistic sport in so much that it hurts him whenever he sees ill-disciplined boxers.
The former International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior-featherweight and International Boxing Organisation (IBO) featherweight champion has said that boxers need to understand that discipline goes a very long way in this sport.
“This is the sport I love and live. There is a lot of talented boxers here in South Africa. Unfortunately, discipline continues to be a problem among our boxers and that pains me,” Bungu said without mentioning any names of ill-disciplined boxers.
“I so wish our boxers can be disciplined because that helps in boxing. I know boxers, who have retired because of ill-discipline. This is very, very sad.
“Self-discipline is very important in boxing without which it will be difficult for boxers to succeed. However, I’m happy we have a boxer like Zolani Tete, who is a disciplined athlete. Hopefully, others will take a leaf out of his book.”
The former South African junior-featherweight champion knows what he is talking about when he speaks about discipline. Bungu has admitted that discipline played a massive role in ensuring that he defended his IBF junior-featherweight belt a record 13 times.
Meanwhile, the 53-year-old Bungu believes that people’s love of boxing should be revived by making sure that tournaments are held closer to where they live.
“Boxing needs to be taken closer to where people live. Some people have lost interest in the sport due to a number of reasons. I remember when I was still a boxer that people used to hire minibuses to take them from East London to my fights in Carousel. People used to leave on Friday evening if I was fighting on a Saturday evening. I really appreciated that,” Bungu said.
