Nkabiti loss profound for Botswana

A week ago at the Turffontein Race Course in Johannesburg, South Africa, it was not only local pugilist Herbert Nkabiti who was lying on his back in the boxing ring canvas, but the whole nation was beaten as well.

Before tasting the bitter agony of defeat within minutes of the first round, Nkabiti came to the ring hoisting a huge blue, black and white flag with little support from a handful of local journalists, his trainer and a long time sponsor. Unfortunately he was stopped inside the first round and perhaps defeat was inevitable, granted the type of opponent he was facing and the level of preparation he had put in prior for the fight. In most countries including South Africa, professional boxing as any other mainstream sport, is a serious business; it is a matter of national pride.

If an athlete is defeated at international competitions, sports authorities are held accountable and heads roll and the public is generally depressed. However, this is not the question with professional boxing in Botswana - a loss is almost always expected and that continues to be the tragedy of local sports and sports supporters. If an athlete in a sport like professional boxing goes outside to compete like Nkabiti did, very little attention is paid, and it is only if he or she happens to win that both the authorities and the public start paying attention.

A few years ago, Amantle Montsho was revelling in success and the attention that came with it. It is also happening with Nijel Amos. However Nkabiti is a different case. He has been fighting successfully in SA for years before taking his first loss last year. After knocking on many doors, managing and promoting himself for years, Nkabiti eventually amassed an impressive record of nine knockouts in 10 wins. An amazing feat for a boxer from a country that does not have an official professional boxing authority. Nevertheless, it was inevitable that time and lack resources would catch up with Nkabiti at some point.

On Friday, his opponent, the Pan African champion Paul Kamanga, is a well-funded, well-trained and a well-paid elite professional boxer.  As an advanced economy, SA has long realised that boxing is a money sport that attracts national pride, unites the nation and sells the country at international stages. In the past, while Botswana invested in amateur boxing, SA has invested in professional boxing, eventually producing champions that raised their flag high including the likes of Dingaan Thobela, Brian Mitchell, Welcome Ncita as well as the late Baby Jake Matlala. However, Botswana remained immensed in amateur boxing glory while SA found success in international stages.

Nevertheless, having realised the potential for international success and glory a few years back, some local amateur boxers quit and tried their hand at pro boxing but their efforts were eventually in vain as very little success followed. These men include Thuso ‘Scud’ Khubamang, Kgotla Baeti, Lesley Sekotswe and later Ryan Seakolo, to mention a few. Despite their efforts, these men flew under the radar, having never been known by casual boxing fans in Botswana. There was never any type of government support to speak of as authorities concentrated on amateur team sports that brought medals instead of monetary gain for the athletes.

Moreover, local private companies eager to please government by supporting amateur teams sports kept their distance from pro boxing, with the excuse that the professional boxers were engaged in individual profit making ventures.
It thus became harder and harder to form a professional boxing authority in Botswana, instead there was the ineffective Local Controlling Body, a temporary structure that never had any success except for a few small professional boxing tournaments. The brutal annihilation of Nkabiti last Friday was evidence of lack of support for local professional athletes in Botswana. Nkabiti who has not been active for almost a year due to lack of resource and support was thrown in the ring with what could be compared to a hungry junkyard dog in the 21-year-old Kamanga.

It took the well-primed Congolese a matter of seconds to finish the fight with a technical tnock-out, it was 1-0 for SA against Botswana. Kamanga, a Congolese who fights under Boxing South Africa, is well-taken care of by his promoters who are partly funded by the SA government under Boxing SA. After the fight, Nkabiti’s famed SA trainer Manny Fernandes attributed the heavy loss to lack of preparation, with Nkabiti, who moonlights as personal trainer, having spent only two weeks with him in camp prior to the big fight. “He had not prepared adequately,” Fernandes said. 

The trainer added that the local pugilist should have prepared well in time with serious sparring partners who come at a huge cost, if he was to fight a top class super champion like Kamanga. “I understand that efforts are underway to set up a professional boxing authority in Botswana. I will be willing to work with promoters when they start making development tournaments,” Fernandes said. He added that boxing was a brutal and dangerous sport that required people like him who have been in the game for years. In an interview after beating Nkabiti, Kamanga questioned the legitimacy of professional boxing in Botswana.

“How many professional boxers do you have in Botswana? I only know Herbert and one other fighter. I wonder who he was sparring with when he was preparing for the fight.” The comments and questions posted by both trainers and SA boxers after the fight were telling, as they questioned the status of local boxing and wondering why there was no support. However, what is sad is that government has spent millions on a lot of boxers like Nkabiti, most of them are on the streets while others have moved on with day jobs.
There are the likes of Mmoloki Nogeng, Thato Batshegi, Gomotsang Gaasite and Khumiso Ikgopoleng who commanded an illustrious amateur career and pedigree. Without any doubt they would have moved on to become world champions in the professional ranks if the relevant structures were in place.

With the ushering in of the Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) and the hands on Minister of Sports Youth and Culture Thapelo Olopeng, many within the local boxing community are hoping that professional boxing will take off and put the country where it belongs on the world stage instead of just competing for medals in traditional events like the Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games.