The Chairperson of the KwaZulu-Natal Boxing Federation, Sandile Vilakazi, says the province is committed to restoring its reputation as a leading boxing hub in South Africa.
Vilakazi says investing in grassroots development, upgrading training facilities and strengthening partnerships with government and the private sector will help revitalise the sport and create more opportunities for young boxers.
He says the federation has appointed former boxers as ambassadors to attract sponsorship and promote boxing in the province.
Vilakazi says, “We have appointed Mruti Mthalane, whom we all know as the last world champion from KwaZulu-Natal. As we know, he is now a retired boxer. We want him to be the face of boxing in the province and to use his experience to inspire and mentor the next generation of fighters. We have also secured sponsorship from IBF Funeral Services, owned by Phumlani Njilo, to support our boxing development initiatives.”
Vilakazi has acknowledged that the federation continues to face financial challenges in supporting its programmes.
“As the federation, we are still facing financial challenges. However, we would like to thank the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Sport, Arts and Culture for its continued support. We also need to attract more corporate partners and sponsors to invest in boxing so that we can grow the sport and create more opportunities for our athletes,” Vilakazi says.
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