Moroke Boxing Promotion promoter, Sinazo Moroke with NC Department of Sport, Arts and Culture MEC, Desery Fienies during the announcement of the Women in Boxing Tournament. Picture: Soraya Crowie.
To ignite enthusiasm and advocate for women's boxing, the inaugural Women In Boxing tournament is scheduled to occur at the Mittah Seperepere Convention Centre in Kimberley on February 24, 2024.
The tournament will be hosted by Moroke Boxing Promotion together with Boxing South Africa and the Northern Cape Department of Sport, Arts and Culture.
Female boxers from across South Africa, as well as fighters from neighbouring countries will be part of the upcoming slugfest eager to show off their ring craft.
Sinazo Moroke, the promoter of Moroke Boxing Promotion, has announced that female boxers will compete in five different divisions.
“Female boxers will fight in the Featherweight (division), the Junior Flyweight, Bantamweight, Flyweight and the Catchweight. We aim to increase the exposure of female boxing in order for women to get the same recognition as their male counterparts,” said Moroke.
She added that another objective of the tournament was to potentially identify new boxing talent in the Northern Cape.
“There are no female boxers from the Northern Cape that will be fighting in this tournament. All the boxers are from outside of the province. Female boxing is not greatly promoted in this province.
“The resources we needed for the tournament, such as the boxing ring, we also had to outsource from other provinces. Our aim is to not only to attract young girls into becoming professional boxers, but also to identify what measures need to be implemented to grow the sport.
“We want to see local female boxers compete in national and international tournaments. We just need to discover those hidden diamonds,” she told the DFA.
The MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture in the Northern Cape, Desery Fienies said the tournament is a wonderful way to promote boxing as well as the province itself.
“This tournament is the first for the province, but will hopefully not be the last. It is remarkable that an event to promote women in sport will be hosted in our province. We know this tournament is no small event, but will place the province on the map as a great destination as a host for sport.
“Women interested and those who are already in the industry will have the opportunity to rub shoulders with experts and promoters in the sport while exploring the Diamond City.”
The MEC called on all residents, but on women especially to show their support for this initiative. “We urge residents, especially women in the city, to fill up the convention centre and support our fellow sisters as they make strides in a sport that is identified as a sport for men.”
Tickets to the tournament will cost R100 per person for adults and R150 per couple, while children will pay only R50.
The weigh-in of the boxers will take place on Friday, February 23 at the Mittah Seperepere Convention Centre.
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