By Nangamso Mabindla

East London has always been known as the mecca of boxing of South Africa. Here, youngsters dream of imitating some of the best boxers to ever come out of this region; legends like Happyboy Mgxatshi, Mxhosana Jongilanga and Vuyani "the Beast" Bungu.

But it was different for Welcome "The Hawk" Ncita. "Boxing was not my first love, soccer was. I used to do boxing as a hobby," the soft-spoken former world champ says.

Ncita, who grew up in Mdantsane, used to box on the weekends with his elder brother, an amateur boxer. When it was introduced to the local schools as an extramural activity, Ncita decided to participate in tournaments. "I went to my first tournament as an unknown and I fought against Mveleli Luzipho, who was seen as a prospect. I drew my first amateur fight."

That still did not convince him to hang up his soccer boots. It was only after winning a gold medal and becoming the region's first Springbok boxer in 1982, that he changed direction.

Professional
"I turned professional in 1983 and won my first Eastern Cape title. I then decided I could make a living out of this sport. I started taking training seriously and people started looking at me as a prospect," says the Hawk.

In 1985, Ncita showed the whole of South Africa how good a boxer he was when he dethroned Baby Joe Miya for the SA flyweight (51kg) title to become the first boxer from the region to win the national crown in that division. He later fought Miya twice and defeated him in both fights

He defended the title three times and relinquished it in 1990 to fight for the International Boxing Federation (IBF) Junior Featherweight Crown against Israeli Fabrice Benichou in Tel Aviv.

"That was a difficult time in my young career because I was fighting in a foreign land and was fighting in a new weight division. But I knew I had to do the business and so I went there to win," says Ncita.

First
To fight Benichou at junior featherweight level (57kg), Ncita had to bypass two weight divisions - junior bantam and bantam weight.

By dethroning the highly rated Israeli world champion, Ncita became the first South African boxer to win the IBF crown and the first boxer from Mdantsane to win a world title. He defended the title seven times before suffering his first loss at the hands of former Olympic gold medalist, Kennedy "The King" McKinney of America.

Ncita's record as a boxer stands at 45 fights, 41 wins, a draw and 22 inside the distance. The boxer now owns a Steers Franchise in Nahoon and believes his decision to open his own business was a good one.

"When you box, you have to be prepared for the time when you'll no longer have it in you and that is the Achilles' Heel of boxers and most sportsmen for that matter. My business keeps me going, and it is evidence of the kind of investments I made from being a world champion."

Greed
In the early 1990s, half South Africa's national boxing champions came from East London, but today only Tiger Vabaza is SA champ.

Ncita attributes the decline in boxing to greedy officials and handlers who cheat boxers of their winnings.

"When you fight, you put your health at risk and, at the end of it all, everything is vanity. Now youngsters are watching and they see that boxing doesn't pay so they choose other sports to play where they'll have a secure future."

He says boxers should matriculate and study further so that if things don't work out for them in boxing, there's something to fall back on and no one even a corrupt manager can take that away from you.

"You need to mix the discipline you learn in the ring as a boxer with certain aspects of life. That way you can never go wrong."

Father
Asked why he had not relocated to Johannesburg where the larger purses are, Ncita says although he has received many offers from the big city, he "loves this place too much to leave it".

The father of three says East London has given him peace of mind and "there are no people harassing you. People respect your privacy and it's also a good place for business as well."

"I am an East Londoner. It's in my veins. I was born here, and became a world champion while living here."

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