08 Jul 2024

The organising chairperson of the Univeristy of Botswana Boxing Open Tournament has hailed it as the right medicine to help local boxing improve.

UB held a three-day open tournament, over the weekend, a first in the country.   

Lechedzani ‘Master’ Luza said in an interview that the objective of the tournament was to get boxing to be one of the best sporting codes in the country, a status which he said they used to command.

“This was a very successful tournament, considering the fact that it was the first of its kind. The attendance was very impressive as we had 17 clubs and a total of 80 boxers participating,” he said.

Luza said the good thing about the tournament was that it gave boxers the exposure of fighting continuously over three days, which he said was always the norm during international competitions. 

“At such competitions, you have to go through about five or so bouts to win a medal, so this tournament was a step in the right direction as boxers went through three fights each for a podium finish,” he said.

Luza said the open tournament was even better than national championships because the latter gave boxers a chance to rest as they were played over successive weekends, therefore lacked the intensity of an international competition.

Luza therefore said it was their hope that other clubs would also emulate the UB Boxing Club and organise similar open tournaments. 

He also indicated that the Botswana Boxing Association (BoBA) had also adopted the arrangement that competitions should not be played anything less than two days. His sentiments were echoed by some of the boxers. 

The winner in the bantam weight category, George Molwantwa, said his international exposure helped him win his fight and appreciated the UB Boxing Club for the tournament. 

“During international competitions there is hardly any rest, so to get tournaments that are in the same mould as often as possible will ensure that when we get to those international tournaments, we are used to the intensity,” he said.

Molwantwa also said if local boxers could get such tournament about three or five times a year, then it would work well in boosting the performance of local boxers internationally. 

He said such open tournaments would also help fill in the gap where the association could not send boxers to international training camps.

Molwantwa also said fighting over three days reflected on preparations as one was forced to train more intensely. “During interclubs you only get one bout, and that would mean a week of training is sufficient, but a tournament like this one where you get many bouts, forces you to prepare for about three weeks to a month. Now imagine if you get such open tournaments often, it means you keep fit throughout the year,” he said.

Kago Raokgwatlhile, who slightly lost to Molwantwa, similarly indicated that despite his loss, he was happy for the exposure. “Without taking anything from interclub tournaments, this open tournament was more competitive and challenging because it pushed us harder. Internationally, you can even get two fights in a day, so this is the experience we need,” he said.

Coach of the tournament, Bond Ngubula, who is better known for organising professional fights, said the open tournament was a good way of nurturing boxers for professional boxing. Ngubula also admitted that there was a challenge of getting more women boxers, which he urged clubs to work on.

Apart from individual medals, 1-2-5 Boxing Club emerged the best club, followed by Francistown Boxing Club while the hosts, UB Boxing Club settled for position three. Prisons Boxing Club wrapped the honours at position four. Ends