ABOUT 30 amateur boxers, who won during the three-day Welcome Ncitha Rising Stars Boxing Championships, will participate in national championships next year.
From Friday to Sunday, Mnquma Amateur Boxing Federation, led by Mbuyiseli Xokolo, hosted the Welcome Ncitha Rising Stars Boxing Championships at Butterworth Training College, where boxing teams from different regions within the province competed.
More than 300 amateur boxers from those regions were competing against each other to get an opportunity to represent the Eastern Cape in the national championships next year.
Chatting with Boxing Federation president in the Eastern Cape, Welcome Ncitha said that as the South African National Boxing Federation they had decided to organise championship tournaments in various provinces with the aim of developing young boxers.
Ncitha said that those events are led by former boxers, just as in the Eastern Cape he was the one who was leading the event at Butterworth.
He said that by leading these events they are trying to share their boxing experience with young boxers, and also contribute to the development of the sport locally and nationally.
Furthermore, he said that those boxers who did well over the weekend will get an opportunity to represent the Eastern Cape in the national event expected to be hosted next year, in an unconfirmed province for now.
One of the amateurs who managed to win during the event, Sakhekile Makhoba (17) from Qonce (King Williams Town) in Ncerha Village, said that he was happy to win all three fights and get the gold medal.
Makhoba fought three bouts, including the final bout, and won all of them.
These wins raised the hopes of this Qonce boxer that one day he will be a professional.
For winning the gold during the event, it means Makhoba will represent the province in the national championships.
