1987 — Baby Jake Matlala suffers his only stoppage defeat at the hands of a South African boxer, quitting after the 11th round against South African junior-flyweight champion Vuyani Nene in Uitenhage. Matlala and Nene fought each other four times in total, with Nene winning all of them. Matlala would go on to win four world titles, while Nene failed in his only shot.
1991 — Brian Mitchell becomes the first South African boxer to try to unify world titles as he takes on American Tony Lopez in his backyard in Sacramento. Mitchell, making the 12th defence of his WBA junior-lightweight crown, was bidding to add the IBF belt to his mantle. Mitchell did enough to win the fight in the eyes of many observers, but the judges scored it a draw. Mitchell’s 12 defences — which were all abroad because of apartheid — remains a record for the division. He gave up the WBA belt for a second crack at Lopez later in the year.
1992 — The SA cricket team beat India by six wickets in a rain-shortened World Cup round-robin match to qualify for the semifinals. Skipper Mohammad Azharuddin top-scored with 79 from 77 balls in India’s 180/6 in 30 overs. SA’s openers, Andrew Hudson (53) and Peter Kirsten (84 from 86 deliveries), set up the victory with an opening stand of 128. SA won with five balls remaining, with captain Kepler Wessels, batting at five, unbeaten on nine and Hansie Cronje on eight not out.
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