The date is August 23 2014, and former SA two-division champion Sikhulule Sidzumo is taking a hideous beating from Nkululeko Mhlongo in a rare tournament at the Bhisho Stadium near Qonce.
Amid calls for the fight to be stopped, spectators’ attention turned to a pregnant woman crying uncontrollably at the ringside, prompting ring official Siya Vabaza Booi to console her.
Sidzumo was rescued from the beatdown in eight rounds, marking his end as a boxer.
But he never turned his back on boxing, instead transferring his knowledge into training children in the NU5 Mdantsane area.
It turned out that the pregnant woman, Fezeka Mnyamana, became his wife and helped him unearth talent in the area.
Mnyamana was attracted to boxing when the company she was working for sponsored amateur tournaments in Mdantsane.
“As someone with a First Aid qualification, I used to be heavily involved in those tournaments,” she said.
“My interest developed further during Mzolisi Yoyo’s SA title reign, so I used to go to his fights to cheer for him.”
However, when Yoyo split two fights against Sidzumo, she was won over by Sidzumo for good.
“I would not say I fell in love with him because he beat Yoyo, but things started then.”
As Sidzumo was inundated by pleas from children in the area to train them, the couple finally opened a boxing club and coined it Young Assassins.
Focusing on amateur tournaments, the club’s reputation spread like wildfire as its boxers dominated knuckle tournaments, featuring young boxers around the age of eight.
The boxers have since outgrown the nursery tournaments and are taking the professional ranks by storm.
Two of them, Luthando Ntsangani and Siphiwe Base, made their professional debut at Busi J Promotions’ inaugural tournament at NU7 Mdantsane last weekend.
Both put on incredible performances, belying their 19 years of age as they cut their foes down to size.
Base displayed guile and poise to outsmart Likho Mshweshwe before stopping him in two rounds of their flyweight clash.
Ntsangani, a left-hander, destroyed Khanya Sgentseni in one round of their mini-flyweight duel.
The pair increased the number of professional boxers in the gym to four, following in the footsteps of Siyamthanda Mbali, who caused an upset when he dethroned former amateur star and unbeaten Sinovuyo “Pink One” Mthintelwa from his provincial flyweight title last month.
All the boxers in the club are using the “assassin” moniker with a prefix.
Base goes by “Silent Assassin” due to his calculating style; Mbali is the “Aggressive Assassin” while Ntsangani is the “Vicious Assassin”, which defines his killer instinct.
Sidzumo said he would unleash more assassins as some were yet to make their first pro debut.
“People have not seen anything yet,” he said.
Having forged a partnership with Ground Up Sports promotion, many of the young dynamites will be kept active, curbing the likelihood of being influenced by unsavoury factors and going astray due to inactivity.
However, the challenge remains transportation and other training needs such as diet to maximise their potential.
“We fund them out of our pockets for transport and other necessities.”
Mnyamana, who handles the management side of things, could not have wished for a better turn of events after her husband’s losing heartache in Bhisho when she was pregnant with Nalubabalo.
Now 12 years old, Nalubabalo, whose name aptly means “Here is the glory”, is the constant reminder of where it all started.
“Our daughter is a testimony to our boxing journey up to this stage,” she said.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.