Julia Beffon
Saturday night was all right for fighting in South Africa. At Carnival City, “Baby” Jake Matlala defended his world title in his final professional boxing match in front of a crowd of thousands that included former president Nelson Mandela and Hollywood superstar Will Smith.
About 100km away, but light years distant in terms of glitz and purse size, on the banks of the Vaal river two other world title fights were taking place in an old-fashioned marquee rather than the permanent Big Top in Brakpan.
The Jungle War bill at the Emerald Safari Resort and Casino in Vanderbijlpark was more a black-belt than a black-tie affair. It was the high point of two days of kickboxing that included parts of the South African championships.
In the first of the main events, South African policeman Boeta Austen scored a technical knockout over the Professional Kickboxing Council (PKC) champion in the 90kg division, Mutlu Karrabullut. The evocatively named Turk had to be taken to hospital with a badly dislocated shoulder after the fight but had recovered enough to be equally matched against the one-armed bandits at the casino later in the evening.
Austen (30) hopes this first big kickboxing tournament will raise the profile of the sport and bring bigger audiences and bigger purses to the fights.
At the moment as a result of a rule change last year that ended special treatment for sports stars in the ranks of the South African Police Service he has to try and fit in six hours of training a day alongside his job as a member of the Welkom murder and robbery squad.
Austen is a committed Christian and eschews the religious rituals that often accompany Thai boxing. “We don’t do any kneeling or bowing because the moment you bend your head someone will clobber you,” he laughs.
The second world title bout pitted Intercontinental International Sport Kickboxing Association champion Jakes Els against PKC world champion Enrico Grootenhuis from the Netherlands. Els, a security officer in Parys, is also the world Muay-Thai (a style that allows a wider shot range) champion. He retained his titles by a knockout in the second round.
Promoter Joe Viljoen hopes to stage bi-monthly tournaments and set up upcoming black fighters, such as the exciting Vuyisile Collossa, for world title shots.