Nelson Mandela Bay Boxing grooming international stars
He said there was notable success and staying power in boxers who were groomed and competed in Olympic-style boxing.
He mentioned the likes of Masibulele 'Hawk' Makepula, Jeffery Mathebula, Bongani Mwelase, Jackson Chauke and recently JJ Sonjica, who spent time as amateurs competing at a high level and eventually won national and international titles when they turned professional.
'Internationally, great amateurs like Vasily Lomachenko, the Ukrainian IBF and IBO lightweight titlist and multiple middleweight champion of the world, Gennady 'Triple G' Golovkin of Kazakhstan, became world beaters at the professional level.'
According to Vumazonke, in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, professional boxers were allowed to compete and many unfortunately did not make it to the semifinals and finals.
That said much about how the Olympic-style boxing countries of the world were pushing, he said.
Vumazonke said Lusizi, Soga and Magwa might be discarding their vests.
Nelson Mandela Bay is grooming 18-year-old Oyisa Wanga, from KwaNobuhle in Kariega.
Wanga won a gold medal in the 2025 Africa Youth Games held in Namibia.
The Herald
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Nelson Mandela Bay Boxing grooming international stars
'Instead of rushing our boxers to turn pro, we decided to keep them in open boxing [formerly known as amateur] to groom them to greater heights,' Vumazonke said. He said there was notable success and staying power in boxers who were groomed and competed in Olympic-style boxing. He mentioned the likes of Masibulele 'Hawk' Makepula, Jeffery Mathebula, Bongani Mwelase, Jackson Chauke and recently JJ Sonjica, who spent time as amateurs competing at a high level and eventually won national and international titles when they turned professional. 'Internationally, great amateurs like Vasily Lomachenko, the Ukrainian IBF and IBO lightweight titlist and multiple middleweight champion of the world, Gennady 'Triple G' Golovkin of Kazakhstan, became world beaters at the professional level.' According to Vumazonke, in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, professional boxers were allowed to compete and many unfortunately did not make it to the semifinals and finals. That said much about how the Olympic-style boxing countries of the world were pushing, he said. Vumazonke said Lusizi, Soga and Magwa might be discarding their vests. Nelson Mandela Bay is grooming 18-year-old Oyisa Wanga, from KwaNobuhle in Kariega. Wanga won a gold medal in the 2025 Africa Youth Games held in Namibia. The Herald
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