During the Female in Boxing Indaba that was held at Umhlanga Arch in Durban from August 22 to August 27, South African female boxers voiced their disappointment with the manner in which female boxers are treated.
The indaba was organised by the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture and Boxing South Africa. The Vhembe District was represented by boxer Raider Muleba and local boxing promoter Ms Thifhelimbilu Tshiruma.
"As female boxers, we had a meeting where we decided to write down all the problems affecting us as female boxers. We then decided to choose the main points and handed them over to both the sports department and Boxing South Africa," said Muleba, who is from Tshidzini village.
Muleba explained that female boxers are unhappy about their fighting contracts and the amount of money they receive for fights. She added that it was revealed during the indaba that promoters always approach the government asking for a lot of money for organising boxing tournaments but end up paying boxers peanuts.
"We were shocked when Boxing SA said promoters tell them they pay boxers at least R120 000 for a title fight. They give them the money, but promoters are paying boxers as little as R4 000 for a fight, and less than R30 000 for a South African national title fight and pocket the rest. Promoters are exploiting us big time," she said.
Muleba said that Boxing SA promised that they were going to investigate the matter. She said, however, if a promoter asked for the same amount from big corporates, the government could not investigate as this was a transaction between the two parties.
During the indaba, an allegations was made that judges were in some cases only paid R150 for a fight. "This was raised by a judge who started working with SA Boxing 33 years ago, before I was even born, and he is still paid such an amount today," she said.
One of the issues raised during the gathering was the postponement of fights when women boxers are menstruating. Muleba said that this did not happen at all. "Even female promoters, who know how painful it is, tell you there is nothing they can do as they have signed contracts with different companies," she said.
When asked what made her stick to such a physical sport when they were not being paid well, she said that boxing was in her blood. She also had a lot of praise for her trainer/manager, Mr John Nemakonde. "He has dedicated his life to boxing. He treats us like his children. One day I was badly injured in the eye during training. He took me to Tshilidzini Hospital, but the service there was very poor and I was in terrible pain. He took me to a private doctor and forked out R600. Don't forget that he is a pensioner, but he is also taking care of us," she concluded.
Responding to the allegations of promoters' exploiting boxers and referees, Boxing SA spokesperson Dr Azwitamisi Shadrack Nthangeni said the deputy minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Ms Nocawe Mafu, was very concerned about these allegations.
"The issue of boxing judges' earning R150 was raised by boxing judge Siya from the Eastern Cape. The deputy minister has committed that she will form a committee to investigate the allegations and will report back to us in our next meeting. She has also committed to meet with all the MECs from all the provinces to discuss matters pertaining to female boxing," he said.