A former two-weight division South African champion and his wife are quietly making boxing history, training future champions at the Young Assassins Boxing Club in Mdantsane.
Sikhulule Sidzumo, an erstwhile national lightweight and junior-welterweight titlist, who fought professionally between 1997 and 2014, is training boxers and has his wife, Fezeka, as his assistant.
Speaking about the origins of their club, Sidzumo said: “Young Assassins Boxing Club is something that I planned while I was still an active boxer. Young Assassin was my ring name.
“I started training young boxers between eight and 10 years old in 2016. And there were people who were questioning the wisdom of training young kids instead of going for older boxers. My answer had always been that I wanted to catch them young so that they could grow up with me.
“And some of the boxers brought gold medals to our gym after they became South African amateur champions. I remember one instance when I took seven boxers to an amateur tournament and we returned home with seven with gold medals.”
Seeing that his boxers were coming up nicely, Sidzumo advised his wife to apply for a Boxing South Africa (BSA) licence to prepare for life in the professional ranks.
“As time went on, I asked my wife to go apply for a BSA licence as she was also involved in training the boxers,” Sidzumo revealed.
Siyamthanda Mbali, Anam Xuza, Siphiwe Base and Luthando Ntsangani were the Sidzumos’ first professional boxers. However, Xuza has since left Young Assassins.
The Sidzumos have been joined by Lubabalo Kweyi, a former SA junior-lightweight contender. Kweyi is the current Eastern Cape junior-lightweight champion.
On the other hand, Mbali, who is so far their standout performer, is the reigning Eastern Cape flyweight champion. He dethroned Sinovuyo Mthintelwa via a split decision victory in April this year and he successfully defended his provincial title with an eighth round stoppage win over Masivuye Piliso at the Guild Theatre in KuGompo City last. – Monwabisi Jimlongo
