• The once prestigious SA professional boxing title is struggling in intensive care, and the sport's insiders fear that one proposed resuscitation effort by Boxing SA (BSA) will send it into extinction.
Two statistics show how little value the national strap holds these days:
• Local promoters and boxers are preferring to chase run-of-the-mill stepping stone title belts offered by the international alphabet bodies; and,
• Only three SA men's champions across the 17 weight classes are actually rated the best in the country in their divisions.
"We've identified a whole lot of issues that make SA titles less attractive than other titles," BSA CEO Tsholofelo Lejaka told the Sunday Times.
Since the beginning of 2018, there have been 98 title bouts on SA soil, but only 21 were for national belts.
That ratio indicates a problem.
The most popular options have been the international and Africa titles belonging to the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, IBO and WBF which all charge sanctioning fees ranging from around R10,000 up to more than R200,000 for a world title in some cases.
There were 10 so-called world title bouts in all.
A rough calculation shows that promoters paid close to R2m to these bodies over the past 15 months, while BSA pocketed nearly R1.7m in sanctioning fees for the year ending March 31 2018. BSA charges promoters 10% of TV revenue and 5% of sponsorships and gate-takings.
Most of BSA's revenue comes from government, with nearly R13m earmarked from the current fiscus.
The controversial rescue effort BSA has proposed is to follow the world bodies by charging flat sanctioning fees for SA and provincial titles which would result in local promoters paying considerably more than they do now.
Lejaka said the extra cost should be matched with value for services.
But promoter Andre Thysse is unconvinced. "It's a very bad idea," said the former SA super-middleweight champion who holds the record number of SA title defences for this millennium so far, eight.
His old trainer, erstwhile welterweight king Harold Volbrecht, owns the all-time mark of 19 defences.
Thysse argues that the proposed cost structure will price the SA belt out of the market.
"The SA title will fall away. My boxer does not get world recognition [a world ranking] if he wins an SA title. I'd rather he go for an African title and get the world recognition."
Lejaka countered that BSA - finances permitting - was considering attending the annual conventions of two world bodies this year to canvas for local boxers.
Another thorn in the flesh of the SA title is the controversial three-fight rule which requires a contender to fight their last three bouts in the division in which they're challenging.
Last month, BSA refused to allow Michael Mokoena to take on Thompson Mokwana for the SA lightweight title for this reason; the bout went ahead with no belt at stake and the challenger won by knockout.
Promoter Jeff Ellis pointed out boxers were forced to accept bouts outside of their divisions simply to get action and earn money to survive.
"The fighters are starving," he said. "This rule means we are losing the opportunity to stage the best available fights," he added.
NO LIVE BOXING ON SABC
BSA has applied this rule haphazardly, but Lejaka said the regulator agreed it should be abolished. That'll take time because boxing regulations must be gazetted.
Perhaps the biggest blow to the value of SA belts has been the demise of live boxing on SABC, which used to invest in title fights every weekend.
That came to an abrupt end in 2010 when SABC ran out of funds, apparently having overspent on the World Cup.
Lejaka is scheduled to meet promoters again in May to discuss the proposals further, and says there'll be a national convention for all licensees next year.
He is confident they will find common ground...