🇿🇦 Mandela African Boxing Cup Tournament in Durban, South Africa, April 15-21
DR CONGO WINS MAIDEN EDITION AS 7 SOUTH AFRICAN FINALISTS BEATEN
▫️ Hosts finish a miserable 14th position_
▫️ Big win for AFBC President Eyassu Berhanu
DR Congo conquered all as Africa Boxing Confederation (AFBC) President Eyassu Berhanu scored a big win in the successful Mandela African Boxing Cup tournament which ended on April 21 in Durban.
In the absence of Africa’s five boxing giants – Nigeria, Algeria, Morocco, Zambia and Ghana – DR Congo dominated the inaugural Mandela African Boxing Cup event to flatten close competitors South Africa who had seven finalists and DR Congo 13 finalists.
The Central African county topped the medals chart with 10 gold, three silver and six bronze medals followed by Mozambique 2-3-0, Mauritius 2-0-2, Gabon 2-0-0 and fifth-placed Lesotho 1-1-5.
South Africa finished a disappointing 14th position with seven silvers and four bronze medals. It’s time for a major boxing shake-up in the Mzansi Nation. Heads will have to roll.
The Durban debacle comes on the heels of yet another embarrassing show for the South Africans in the African Games in Accra, Ghana where they placed 12th with only one silver and a bronze.
DR Congo’s ten gold medallists are minimumweight Benedicte Diyoka, flyweight Muamba Nyembo, featherweight Marcelat Sakobi, light-welterweight Mbamba Merveille, light-middleweight Mbiya Kulenguka who beat Mozambican Tiago Muxanga for the fourth time in a row, light-heavyweight Pita Kabeji, welterweight Brigitte Mbabi, light-heavyweight Marie Mwika, heavyweight Tekasala Malewu and super-heavyweight Bweluzey Lazare.
For AFBC President, Eyassu Berhanu, the successful tournament was a big win coming within a year of his election into office in November last year.
“This is just the beginning, more tournaments are on the way including a lot of changes in the overall management of boxing, things have to be done professionally for us to make headway in Africa,” said a smiling Berhanu obviously delighted by the well organised tournament, a joint venture between the International Boxing Association (IBA), AFBC and South Africa National Boxing Organisation (SANABO).
Gold medallists received $5000, silver $3000 and $1,500 for bronze courtesy of IBA.
The introduction of the new tournament – in memory of the late South African President Nelson Mandela – is a milestone in the development of boxing in Africa, and has been praised by a cross-section of the boxing fraternity in the continent.
The head coach of Botswana’s national boxing team Thebe Setlalekgosi has hailed the AFBC and IBA for the introduction of Mandela African Boxing Cup tournament.
“We as coaches are very happy with this new tournament, it is an opportunity for our boxers to have as many fights as they can to gauge themselves,” said the Botswana coach.
“It also gave a chance to upcoming boxers fight some of Africa’s top boxers, for us it was a golden opportunity to build on our team going forward, most of my boxers fought in three to four fights all in one setting. We expect more of such tournaments.”
📸 DR Congo’s newly crowned Mandela African Boxing Cup light-heavyweight champion Pita Kabeji (right) on his way to the final after defeating Cameroon’s Roger Ciril (left) in the semi-finals.
✍🏼 AFBC Communications