DAVID ISAACSON | Zizi Kodwa needs to KO clowns of Boxing SA urgently

The Boxing South Africa (BSA) board’s tenure is scheduled to end in December, but quite frankly, they should be booted out as a matter of urgency.

All evidence suggests that they are flagrantly breaking the law.

Boxers and managers who were in action the weekend before last have told me they’re still waiting to be paid.

How can that happen when the regulations — which are gazetted and therefore are law — state that promoters must pay purses to BSA 30 days before a tournament?

I’ve heard unofficially that BSA shifted that policy down to 14 days, but even so, how does one explain that boxers are still waiting for their cash nine and 10 days after fighting?

But this is not the only problem with BSA. It’s actions are becoming increasingly personal, vindictive, nonsensical and contrary to the law.

Look at what acting CEO Erick Sithole, who also sits on the executive, did in Cape Town last Friday night.

He arrived late at promoter Savva Savvas’s tournament at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and ordered that ring announcer Dev Currer, who had already worked the first six bouts, be removed because he wasn’t licensed.

Now if Currer was indeed not licensed, I wouldn’t have an issue with Sithole’s actions.

But the problem is that he is licensed.

Currer says he renewed his licence in early March, paying the R420 fee when applications opened. The licence periods for BSA run from April to March each year and as it is Currer already announced at a show in Johannesburg on May 6, which falls inside the current cycle.

Furthermore, BSA considers him to be a licensee because it summoned him to a disciplinary hearing in July. The regulator’s letter to him started: “You, Mr Devon Currer, licensed by Boxing South Africa as a ring announcer, are hereby charged with misconduct and requested to appear before a disciplinary committee ...”

But Sithole proceeded to tell my colleague, Bongani Magasela, at the Sowetan: “He is not licensed.

“But Mandla Ntlanganiso [suspended BSA COO] sent through applications for those individuals who wanted their licences renewed and Dev’s application is there.”

Ntlangiso, the director of operations at BSA, was himself suspended by BSA recently.

So Sithole seems to be saying that Currer’s application is sitting in a pile somewhere at BSA.

Hang on a second — Currer submitted his application in early March. How the heck does an organisation with fewer than 1,000 licensees take more than six months to process applications? It’s quicker to renew one’s driver’s licence and we all know what a nightmare that can be.

Sithole wasn’t done: “But he did not attend the training and assessment in March, that is why he is not licensed.”

There are two aspects here. One is that BSA is not enforcing its requirement that all licensees attend its training and assessment with equal vigour. There are licensees who didn’t attend who are allowed to operate, as Currer himself was permitted to do so in May, apparently.

The other element is even more important. The regulations that govern the running of professional boxing require managers, promoters, trainers, seconds, matchmakers and agents registering for the first time to pass a test.

These are for first-time applicants, not for licence renewals. And furthermore, the regulations do not make any mention of ring announcers being required to undergo such testing.

So it appears that Sithole has no legal basis on which to claim that Currer is unlicensed.

If I understand Sithole correctly, he’s saying: Currer is licensed enough to be called to a disciplinary hearing, but he’s not licensed enough to work as a ring announcer.

Huh?!?

There’s only one way to make sense of this mind-boggling logic — Sithole’s action appears to be motivated by vindictive intent. That’s it. He doesn’t like Currer, who is already in the dog box. 

I’m still waiting to hear from BSA if Currer’s disciplinary went ahead as scheduled on Tuesday, because if it did, it surely proves the regulator is at odds with Sithole on Currer’s status as a licensee.

I also want comment from BSA on other matters like why boxers from the August 19 and 20 shows haven’t been paid yet and why the board allowed an unrated fighter to challenge for a South African title.

Unfortunately the regulations do not require BSA board members and employees to undergo tests and examinations to see if they understand the Boxing Act and regulations.

Judging from what BSA has been doing in recent months it suggests they don’t have a cooking clue.

In fact, when one adds all of BSA’s failures together, it’s hard not to arrive at the conclusion that it’s Clown City, with Sithole leading the procession wearing a red nose and size 58 shoes.

The only other option is that they do know what they’re doing and they’re intentionally breaking the law. That would be a serious allegation for anyone to make. 

The only person with the power to wipe this lot off South African boxing’s bruised face right now is sport minister Zizi Kodwa, who is tasked by law to appoint board members every three years.

And if he’s going to let them see out their tenure, it could be a long, hard three months for South African boxing.