Trainer Jabulani Malinga and his sons Vus’Umuzi and Patrick are back in the professional boxing game after serving their suspension.
Jabulani said their suspension ended last week.
Vusi and Patrick both failed four drug tests after fights in April, and tested positive for anabolic steroids.
They were subsequently suspended for two years by the board of Boxing South Africa (BSA) in September.
Vusi was stripped of both his South African and WBC International bantamweight titles and forfeited his number-seven ranking in the WBC ratings.
Patrick lost his Gauteng lightweight belt, and Jabulani was slapped with a 12-month suspension for failing in his duties to make sure that no such acts were committed.
”We will resume our training on Monday next week. My sons will make a strong comeback. In fact, they will continue where they left off.
”The new bantamweight champion, Simphiwe Vetyeka, must gear himself for a helluva fight from now because he is sitting on our chair,” warned Jabulani, who guided Vusi to four defences.
”I am happy that its all over,” he said.
Independent advocate Thomas Mohope and Dr George van Dugteren both recommended to the board of BSA after an eight-hour appeal hearing at BSA’s offices in November last year that the two-year suspension sentence of both boxers should stand, but that the second year of the boxers’ suspension would be suspended for five years.
Mohope said Jabulani’s sentence of 12 months should also stay, but six months should be suspended and a fine of R20 000 imposed on him.
The explanation given by the Malingas to the hearing was that they went to a nurse in Bergville after being stung by bees when chopping wood during a training session in KwaZulu-Natal.
They said they received ointment and tablets to help reduce swelling.
They went on to say that on their arrival in Johannesburg, they went to see their family doctor, who gave them tablets for flu-like symptoms. — Sapa