Boxing

‘Rigorous cleansing’: how Kuse bounced back from drug addiction to WBC belt

‘He weighed 45kg — a zombie, weak, underweight and heavily dehydrated. I had to feed him so he could gain 7kg,’ says manager Mlandeli Tengimfene

09 December 2024 - 10:21
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Siyakholwa Kuse (left) and Beaven Sibanda during their WBC silver mini-flyweight bout at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, on Friday.
Siyakholwa Kuse (left) and Beaven Sibanda during their WBC silver mini-flyweight bout at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, on Friday.
Image: Veli Nhlapo

Newly crowned WBC silver strawweight boxing champion Siyakholwa “The One” Kuse is living testimony that one's past does not determine one's future.

From being a drug addict, written off as a fighter, to winning the South African and ABU belts has been a remarkable recovery by Kuse.

But going on to win the WBC silver belt with Friday's defeat of Beaven Sibanda at Emperors Palace is historic for the 26-year-old fighter from the dusty streets of Mdantsane in East London.

Thabiso Mchunu and Kevin Lerena are the only two locals to have won the WBC silver. Mchunu's accomplishment propelled him to challenge WBC cruiserweight champ Ilunga Makabu but he failed to dethrone him.

He came to me with two things: that I help him with his drug addiction and that he wanted his title back
Mlandeli Tengimfene

Lerena held that organisation's bridgerweight silver belt before his stay was upgraded to that of a fully-fledged champion. Kuse, who was rated No 5, is on the doorstep of challenging WBC strawweight champion Melvin Jerusalem from the Philippines.

Kuse is a role model to others who want to turn their lives around as he did, but all credit to manager Mlandeli Tengimfene — a qualified social scientist — who came to Kuse's rescue in 2022.

He came to me with two things: that I help him with his drug addiction and that he wanted his title back,” said Tengimfene.

“I took him away from Mdantsane NU8 where he used drugs and he lived with me in [the East London suburb of] Cambridge. I cut his dreadlocks because I wanted him to be clean before I informed his parents he was with me.

“He went through a rigorous processes of cleansing and that required 45 days. He weighed 45kg — a zombie, weak, underweight and heavily dehydrated. I had to feed him so he could gain 7kg before I could cut him back to the minimum weight.”

Tengimfene said the 16-ounce gloves were too heavy for Kuse.

“We had to put him on a drip to rehydrate him,” said the manager, who then took the boxer to his All Winners Gym where he is trained by Makazole Tete and his younger brother Zolani Tete.

Kuse reciprocated by winning three titles when no-one thought he could bounce back as a human being, let alone a boxer.

His win over tough-as-teak South African-based Zimbabwean Sibanda for the WBC silver belt came in an intriguing, hard-fought 12-round fight. Judges Ben Capayi from East London and Francis Chirwa from Zambia scored the fight 115-114 and 117-111 respectively. Sibanda's home-girl judge Gloria Dera must have smoked her socks to score it a draw at 114-114.

Their fight turned into a nail-biting affair in the last three rounds, with Sibanda piling on the pressure, throwing volumes of punches though most missed the intended target. That was probably because he had been told by his team that all the judges had Kuse ahead after eight rounds.

Kuse danced his way out of a potential knock-down while scoring with fewer but cleaner punches. There was a scare early in the fight when Kuse sustained cuts, but cutman Bernie Pailman proved, once more, that closing those are his speciality.

Other results:

  • SA welterweight: Keanu Koopman beat Bonke Duku, KO 8
  • WBA Pan African bantamweight belt: Charlton Malajika beat Sabelo Cebekhulu, on points
  • International Super Welterweight belt: Kestna Davis (US) defeated Pieter de Klerk, KO 4

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