By Chris Totobela
Rhodes University boxers joined a few local boxers for a joint training session on Sunday at the Joza Indoor Sports Centre.
Speaking to Grocott’s Mail just before the training session, Rhodes University’s boxing coach Luyanda “Tyson” Dibela explained the move. “I have been training them for a long time and I think bringing them here will help them as they will work with different coaches with different coaching styles.”
Thabang Hlalele, who took the boxers through their paces in one of the sessions, shared his views. “This is a good initiative that will yield the desired results. I had a good and exciting session with them and I enjoyed working with these boys. My session was mainly about basics, which they all lacked. Their progress may take a bit long as they need to balance between boxing and their academic commitments.”
Hlalele went on to talk about the way forward. “We will try and have these joint training sessions at least once a month and I think that will help us achieve our goal of trying to have as many good boxers as possible at Rhodes University and also help them become more competitive in local tournaments, especially their annual purple glove. We want them to be better prepared and ready for any competition.”
It was a very good experience for both Rhodes University and local boxers as they looked motivated and excited, and this will definitely improve the standard of local boxing.