AN UNRIVALLED LEGACY IN BOXING

BY JOSHUA HENDRICKS

THE WESTERN CAPE BOXING COMMUNITY suffered a huge loss on 20 July 2022 when coach Ayanda Mapasa, better known as Ginger, died after a prolonged illness. He left behind an unrivalled legacy in university boxing and youth development, as several of his protegés recalled.

ADVOCATE LWANDISO KWABABANA, who competed at the World University Championships in Russia in 2008 and won silver for kickboxing at the 29th All Africa Games (even though UWC did not have a kickboxing club!), says he owed his international boxing achievements to this humble community builder who made that dream come true. “He would be remembered for encouraging young people to involve themselves in sports and use sports to earn them opportunities to study at a high institutional level,” says Advocate Kwababana.

“HE WAS A FATHER, COACH and also played a big role in making sure that I became a South African champion when I was a junior, and a silver and bronze medallist as a senior,” says Asemahle Sentile, >

a gifted fi ghter and BA graduate who also helped Mapasa develop youths at the Khayelitsha Boxing Academy.

“He also made sure that I got into UWC, himself and Mr Glen Bentley. Hence he was the fi rst one to tell me and my family when I was enrolled,” says Sentile.

“BOXING IS A VERY TOUGH SPORT to be involved in and, therefore, one must have the passion and drive to compete,” says Olivia Williams, one of several UWC female boxers groomed for the highest level by Mapasa.

“Coach Ginger was so passionate about the sport and the development of youth from different backgrounds, that he saw the sport as much more than just us competing in the sport. He saw it as a way for young kids to use the sports to better their opportunities in life. He also used boxing as a way for students to get into universities.

“HE WAS MY BOXING COACH when I joined UWC in 2014. He was a mentor and second father and helped me get involved in the admin side of sports.

“After I stopped competing and graduated he made sure we remained connected as a boxing family, and ensured that I was active in assisting with tournaments and the development of the sport.”

WILLIAMS’ UWC CONTEMPORARY Pumlani Nkqetho, who won numerous bouts on the national stage under Mapasa’s tutelage while pursuing his BCom, simply says, “Legends never die, they multiply. The legacy of Ayanda Ginger Mapasa will live.”

Noting that Mapasa had helped a number of boxers to enrol at UWC and go on to graduate, UWC Head of Boxing, Glen Bentley, says: “What he has done has been of great fulfi lment and he served his purpose.”

BENTLEY’S PREDECESSOR as UWC Boxing Manager, the late Edwin Wyngaard, was so impressed with Mapasa that he offered him a contract to exclusively train UWC’s boxers. In 2013, confi dent that Mapasa would help lead UWC Boxing to the top at the USSA competition that year, Wyngaard said. “Mapasa is very good at analysing boxers and our competitors. He can tell you exactly what your strengths and weaknesses are, and what you need to work on.”

MAPASA WAS BORN IN ZIPHUNZANA, East London, living there until he moved to Soweto to complete high school. Although more of a footballer, Mapasa established the fi rst boxing club in his village when he returned after matriculating. His love of sport took him to Cape Town and a sports management course at Peninsula Technikon (now CPUT) where he became a boxing trainer to students from both CPUT and UWC. MAPASA’S BELIEF that boxing was useful in honing children’s values and discipline led to founding the Town Two Sports Academy in Khayelitsha in 2001 with his friend, American social worker Rian Micheal. The academy was registered the following year as an offi cial gym under the Western Province Boxing Organisation.

Coach Ginger saw that boxing was much more than just competing. He saw it as a way for young kids to use the sport to better their opportunities in life.

OLIVIA WILLIAMS

AT A WELL-ATTENDED TOURNAMENT he organised in the community in March this year, Mapasa said: “Our ultimate goal is to educate the black child through sport. So, the response to this tournament was ‘wow’ for me. Children still need to know that boxing is still alive and they have many options to explore in life.”

MAPASA FIRST TASTED VICTORY on the national stage when his team won the fi rst Inter-University National Boxing Championship hosted by Wits University in 2007. In 2008, he accompanied the USSA boxing team that competed at the World Student Boxing Championship in Tatarstan in the Russian Federation. In what would have been his latest contribution, he was scheduled to join the USSA traveling to Turkey in September for the FISU University World Cup Combat Sports.

HE ALSO SERVED in several administrative capacities, including as the Chairperson of the Western Province Amateur Boxing Organisation, now known as the Cape Town Metro Open Boxing Organisation, the elected Chairperson of the South African National Boxing Organisation (SANABO) Coaches Commission and as a USSA Development Offi cer.

HIS BELIEF IN EDUCATION extended to improving his qualifi cations as a trainer. In 2015, he was one of only two trainers (the other was Sidney Ntantiso) to be awarded his international certifi cate in boxing by the International Boxing Association.

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