Tough bouts in Tunisia are the last chance for South African boxers to book their places to the Atlanta Olympics
BOXING: Julian Drew
A rhythmic whirling sound intensifies the hypnotic concentration etched on the faces of the national boxing squad at a small hall in Maraisburg. They have just completed a warm-up run and are skipping in a circle under the watchful eye of national coach Dan Bushney.
The skipping ropes circulate stale air, heavy with the odours of hard labour. Bushney keeps an eye on his stopwatch and signals the end of the three-minute workout. The boxers take a brief respite and then repeat the exercise two more times. Bushney then ushers them six at a time into the ring for timed sparring sessions. They finish by fighting one again#st one as Bushney focuses on the specific style and faults of each boxer.
The squad has been together for more than a month at a training camp with time off for a tournament in England. It was then that the real preparations were done. While they trained every day in Johannesburg it was just for fine tuning before the real mission begins. That mission is the African boxing championships which start in Tunisia on Saturday.
But more than an African title will be at stake for the six-man South African team. The tournament in Tunis is the last opportunity for Africa’s boxers to qualify for the Olympic Games in Atlanta.
Five local boxers have already qualified after finishing in the medals at last September’s All Africa Games in Harare. Although all those who have previously made the cut will not be in Tunisia, the task of qualifying will not be any easier.
Absent in Harare were the Moroccan team and the best Algerians. They went instead to the World Military Games which were staged at the same time in Italy. Among them were the only Africans to win medals at last year’s world championships in Berlin. They will all be in Saturday’s draw and irrespective of their achievements last year will have to produce the goods again in order to make the Olympics.
But the quality of the opposition will not be the only obstacle in the path of the South African team. Some of the judges from the African Boxing Confederation (ABC) have been accused of bias t#owards North African boxers, especially in Harare where Bushney said the decision against Phillip Ndou in the featherweight final was the worst he had ever seen. And with the tournament taking place in Tunisia, this situation can hardly be expected to improve.
Also, although nobody is likely to confirm it, the ABC will try to ensure as broad a representation of its members as possible in Atlanta and the feeling could well be that South Africa already has enough qualifiers.
One South African who will be fighting in Tunisia but didn’t get the chance to test himself in Harare, is middle- weight Floris du Plessis. He was in the All Africa Games team but was prevented from competing because he was knocked out in a box-and-dine tournament at the training camp preceding the Games. Amateur boxing regulations prevent a boxer from fighting again within 30 days of a knock out. He will be hoping to av#oid world bronze medallist Mohamed Mesbahi of Morocco in the early rounds.
If bantamweight Silence Mabuza can continue where he left off with his performance in a tournament against England in London, he should do well. He won 10-8 on points against Michael Gibson who is already in the British team for Atlanta. “I’m feeling much more confident since I fought in England. That was my first fight for 1996. It was a very tough fight, he was a clever boxer, but I managed to beat him,” said Mabuza.
The main danger in his division will come from Stive Naraina of Mauritius who beat him in a tournament in Botswana last year and is currently ranked number two in the world. Another threat will be Algeria’s world championships quarter-finalist Abdi Boulahia.
Although Mabuza was the only South African winner out of the seven who travelled to London, light- welterweight Stephen Carr will also draw encouragement f#rom his performance there. He lost 12-10 in a close contest with Barcelona Olympic bronze medallist Alan Vaughan. “I’m confident I can make it. I would say Gerry Legras is the toughest guy in my division and I’ve beaten him twice before,” said Carr. Legras, from the Seychelles, is ranked third in the world. Another top-notch fighter Carr will want to avoid is 10th ranked Hocine Soltani of Algeria.
Welterweight Joe Mestre had a difficult time with injuries in 1995 but after an operation on his hand in October and a successful tournament at the recent African Zone 6 championships in Lesotho, he is back in shape for Tunisia. He originally broke a bone in his hand in Botswana last June and then broke it again at the All Africa Games.
“The tournament in Lesotho was a big test for me and although I lost in the semi-final my hand felt good and I was happy with my performance. I’d lost twice befor#e to this guy but this time it was close and I felt I’d done enough to beat him,” said Mestre.
Super-heavyweight Sam Umbokane has a tougher ordeal than the rest of his team mates because only the winner in his category will go to Atlanta.
In the flyweight division 18-year-old Kenneth Buhlalu is the youngest member of the team, but with his brother Irvin having booked his place already with a gold medal in Harare, he will want to make Atlanta a family affair. He is a good technical boxer with great prospects for the future but his lack of international experience could count against him. He must avoid Algeria’s World Military Games silver medallist Hichem Blida in the early rounds.
“We know it is going to be a hard tournament but we are hoping to get at least another two more qualifiers for Atlanta,” said Bushney.