By Chris Totobela
All roads led to Port Alfred for Makhanda boxing fans on 25 March as Makhanda’s promising talent, Bongani “King Killer” Ful,e exchanged leather with Mvuzo Kotobe of Cumakala, near Stutterheim.
At stake was the vacant Eastern Cape Junior Lightweight boxing title. Forced by the situation at home to drop out of school while in Grade 9 at Kutliso Daniels Secondary School, the now 23-year-old Fule joined the Masibambane boxing camp in 2012. He later moved to Egcuwa looking for work and is currently training at the Tyamzashe boxing camp in East London.
He came to the title fight in Port Alfred with only two previous fights under his belt, both of which he had won. Kotobe, on the other hand, was an experienced fighter withten0 fights, seven losses, and three wins to his name.
Having just spent the festive season in Makhanda, Fule did most of his preparations for the boxing bout here in the town. He started the fight on the back foot as he struggled to find his rhythm in the first three rounds, getting caught by Kotobe with some explosive blows.
Fule tried to fight through the fourth round but was still behind on points. He started fighting back in the fifth round and got his break midway through the round when he cleanly caught Kotobe with an uppercut that made Kotobe kiss the canvas. Kotobe tried to stand up before the referee could even finish the eight count but wobbled as he tried to walk toward the referee, and the man in the middle was left with no choice but to stop the fight.
The new Eastern Cape Junior lightweight champion could not hide his excitement. “I’m very happy that I have achieved what I went there for. It was not an easy fight. I was taking a lot of punishment. I took too long to get into the fight, but I noticed that Kotobe dropped his guards whenever he was throwing punches, and I capitalised on that mistake,” said Fule.
He went on to thank his family and all the Makhandans who drove to Port Alfred in numbers to support him.
Fule said he would also like to thank the Tyamzashe boxing camp, which has played a significant role in his boxing career.
Speaking to Grocott’s Mail after the fight, another local champion, Mzoxolo “Black Tiger” Ndwayana, congratulated Fule.
“This boy is a hard worker,r and has fought a good fight here. This was not an easy fight for him, but he pulled through. If he can remain humble and disciplined, he will go very far with his boxing career”, Ndwayana said.
