Xolisani Ndongeni on boxing in SA: ‘We don’t have a promoter willing to pay what we deserve’

947’s Robert Marawa speaks with professional boxer, Xolisani Ndongeni.

Listen below:

Ndongeni beat Nestor Bravo to win the WBA Intercontinental Junior Welterweight title in Puerto Rico earlier this month.

Going into the bout, he says he was confident he would walk away with a win - despite his opponent being unbeaten.

“When I took the fight… I said there is no way I am losing to this boy. He is an unbeaten, yes, but I’ve been around and I’ve seen it all.”

– Xolisani Ndongeni, Professional Boxer

Despite these great highs, it's been tough for him to make a sustainable living, in order to set himself up for retirement.  

Ndongeni says there is no money in boxing for South Africans when they compete internationally, and even less so at home.  

“I dedicated a lot of time, hard work training, not getting opportunities that I believe I should have been getting and it's very difficult… I don’t blame anyone for that, but we take risks and sometimes we don’t get the results.” 

– Xolisani Ndongeni, Professional Boxer

“Do you know how disappointing it is? How it just drains your heart and your mind to know that you are nowhere close to this sport or fighter that you are competing with?”

– Xolisani Ndongeni, Professional Boxer

“I am still boxing… I have been a professional for 15 years and I only have 40 fights, I am struggling because I can’t take fights in South Africa because we don’t have a promoter who is willing to pay according to what we deserve at least.” 

– Xolisani Ndongeni, Professional Boxer

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the discussion.