Just as the boxing fraternity had all but given up on the launch of the Steve Tshwete Boxing League, Boxing SA CEO Tsholofelo Lejaka provided latest positive news.
“Boxing SA remains excited and confident about the prospects of the Steve Tshwete Boxing League finally coming to reality in the 2026/27 financial year,” said Lejaka.
This comes after sports minister Gayton McKenzie told the boxing fraternity at East London’s International Convention Centre in February last year that the first tournament would take place in April of that year.
Lejaka said: “At the moment the financial allocation for this league is already part of the conditional grant allocation, and the national department of sport, arts and culture, the provincial departments of sport, arts and culture, and BSA are hard at work finalising the rollout plan and related mechanics for the kickstart of the league.
“As Boxing SA, we are grateful to the minister for this bold initiative and the fact that we are now at the stage where we can see the earmarked financial allocation for this league in the grant funding appropriated to each province − something many could have never imagined possible.
”The next stage will now be for the minister to officially launch this bold initiative in due course.”
The series will be promoted by licensed BSA promoters.
Tshwete, an ANC political prisoner who was jailed on Robben Island, was appointed by Nelson Mandela in 1994 as democratic SA’s first sports minister and later served as minister of safety and security.
Tshwete died in April 2002.
“He was such a great minister. Wherever I go, people tell me stories about him,” said McKenzie.
“The tournament will be in all provinces,” he said, “and there will be the main one at the Orient Theatre [in East London]. It will be on TV. It will feature 72 boxers from South Africa’s nine provinces; we are putting in serious money,” said McKenzie.
