Two Grahamstown boxers, Mntwekhaya Makhobe and Masonwabe Mgcuwe recently turned professional and came up against some strong opposition in their first fights as professionals.
Two Grahamstown boxers, Mntwekhaya Makhobe and Masonwabe Mgcuwe recently turned professional and came up against some strong opposition in their first fights as professionals.
The two boxers, who have both been fighting as amateurs for the past eight years, travelled to Uitenhage in the hope of turning pro. The two took part in sparring events in front of various boxing judges and coaches before they were given the nod to enter the professional boxing arena.
Both boxers are members of Mfuzo Boxing Camp in Grahamstown, with Mgcuwe being a student at East Cape Midlands College in Grahamstown and Makhobe a Grade 11 pupil at TEM Mrwetyana Secondary School.
Both said their first fights on the professional level were very different to how the amateurs do it, while Mgcuwe said he did not have much time to prepare for the fight, and had to lose three kilograms in under two weeks in order to make his weigh-in. Mgcuwe fights in the flyweight division, weighing in at 50.5kg while Makhobe competes as a strawweight and weighs 46.9kg.
Mgcuwe said that while he enjoys boxing, he said there is a lack of support for the sport in Grahamstown, with a lack of training facilities and a gym for the boxers to train in. The boxers often have to train by candlelight, as the classroom they use does not have electricity and there is nowhere for them to hang their punch bags. “Its hard but we enjoy boxing,” said Mgcuwe.
The biggest differences between amateur and pro fighting see pros fighting with no head gear, and each round is three minutes compared to two minutes in amateur fighting.
Mgcuwe was introduced to boxing when he first visited a local gym and began sparring with his friends, before falling in love with the sport. Makhobe’s interests in boxing came from watching his brother who was a boxer and who taught him the basics.
As an amateur Makhobe represented Makana, Cacadu and Eastern Province at various tournaments, while Mgcuwe had a colourful career as an amateur. Mfuzo Dyira, who runs Mfuzo Boxing Camp, said Mgcuwe was one of the boxers that brought home the Cacadu award when they took part in the Cacadu Games in Humansdorp.
Both boxers came up against stiff opposition in their first fights as professionals, Mgcuwe was stopped in the first round while Makhobe lost on points.Dyira said “It is never the right place [East London] for debutants, but in Cacadu the are no professional promoters. Those that have renewed their licences in the Metro are not active or have not staged tournaments so far.”
Mgcuwe said the training since he turned pro is “much harder”. Speaking of his first pro fight, Mgcuwe said he know nows what to expect and he plans to keep in shape at all times, just in case he is given short notice of his next fight.
Makhobe says its always been his dream to fight pro and he felt strong during the first two rounds of his four round fight. While he still felt good in the third round, he became tired in the last round, spending most of the the round in defending mode.
