The pain of spending endless hours sweating it out at the gym and suddenly discovering that you might be training for nothing because South African boxing has been shut down has hit hard on Mpumelelo Tshabalala says his trainer and uncle Patrick Malinga.
Tshabalala was due to fight against highly-rated Filipino boxer Jake Amparo on Saturday, 24 February. However, Tshabalala’s dream and desire to move up the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) ratings has been put on hold because SA boxing has ground to a halt due to the court case brought by the National Professional Boxing Promoters Association (NPBPA) against the Minister of Sport Zizi Kodwa.
The NPBPA successfully interdicted the installation of the new board made up
of Sifiso Shongwe, Luxolo September, Sakhiwe Sodo, Romy Titus, Princess Mangoma, Nande Mheshe and Dr Mary-Gene Manthata-Setati.
The Katlehong-based Tshabalala, who is promoted by Xaba Promotions, was due to trade blows with Amparo in a WBO Intercontinental junior-flyweight title defence.
“He was going to fight on the 24th of this month. Unfortunately, everything has come to a standstill in South African boxing. We are not sure whether the fight will take place or not. This thing is painful and it hits the boxers hard. We are just training so that we can remain fit. We started training in December and we are now getting exhausted,” Malinga, a former South African lightweight champion, said.
Meanwhile, Tshabalala’s last fight was when he defeated Jesse Espinas from the Philippines in a WBO Intercontinental junior-flyweight title scrap at the Orlando Communal Hall, Soweto, in August.
On the other hand, Amparo from Bohol in the Philippines suffered a points loss to his compatriot and former International Boxing Federation (IBF) minimumweight champion Pedro Taduran in December. The two Filipino boxers clashed in an IBF minimumweight elimination bout in Tagbilaran City, Bohol.
