A group of boys around the age of nine scavenge through piles of refuse at the Amalinda dumpsite until one of them flushes out a sizable scrap of stale bread.
Just when he is about to munch on it, his peer shoots out a quick jab-like grab and gets it just before it disappears into his mouth.
Despite her 70 years Nowethu still does almost everything on her own, bar watching her grandson in the ring.
“I do not have a television set but even if I did I don’t think I could bring myself to watch him getting beaten up in the ring,” she said from Mgungondlovu village, a rural area in Mount Frere.
MaNdongeni lives with her grandchildren and Xolisani’s elder brother Sakhekile who, like most other villagers, is battling to find a job.
Despite carrying the financial burden of her grandchildren with the help of Ndongeni, Nowethu is content with life, especially as she lives in a large house built with his fight earnings.
“I never took this boxing thing seriously but look at me now. I am living in a mansion built by my grandson,” she said proudly.
In fact the gogo was dead set against the idea of Ndongeni taking up boxing when his then trainer came to ask for the family’s permission to allow him to follow a career in the sport.
Nowethu was with her daughter Lizeka, Ndongeni’s mother, in Duncan Village at the time.
“This man came to ask us to allow Xolisani to train in boxing and I immediately protested against the idea. It was his mother who gave the go-ahead.
“In my mind I had the picture of my grandson getting beaten to a pulp by a behemoth.”
It took some pleading from Ndongeni before Nowethu relented – and, she says, she also vowed to barge into the ring and beat up any boy who beat her son.
“Xolisani promised me that no one would ever beat him so I relaxed.”
True to his word, Ndongeni has yet to lose a fight in 22 bouts with stoppages. Instead he has collected numerous titles including two national crowns, two internationals and a world diadem.
This has earned him the nickname of Nomeva, which in turn helped him compose his trademark song. The catchy name – which translates loosely as ‘wasp’ – is not lost on Nowethu as villagers always ask her when he is coming back home.
“Everybody here asks me ‘when is Nomeva returning home’ and at first I did not know who they were talking about.”
After every victory Ndongeni is greeted with the singing of the song as he dances and plays to the crowd, but he knows there is one special thing he has to do immediately after his fights.
“He never forgets to call me and tell me about his win,” Nowethu says.
Before he fights Nowethu offers silent prayers to God asking him to guide her beacon of hope to safety. “God has plans for all of us. I never imagined that my grandson would become a household name by being involved in boxing.
“In fact I did not even have an idea what boxing was before besides knowing it as that thing that involves two men beating each other up. I never thought that it is a sport and that someone could make a living out of it.
“But look at me now. I have a mansion because of this boxing. Hail the Almighty.”
Nowethu says she is praying for Ndongeni to keep winning, especially given his pending trip to US, a country about which she admits she knows nothing.
When told that the US is the home of boxing, where boxers fight for big money, she erupts clapping: “You mean Xolisani will be able to make more money than he already does?”
With Lizeka having died in the early stages of Xolisani’s boxing career, his ring exploits have dried Nowethu’s tears over losing her daughter.
And now the Hlaya clan, to which Xolisani belongs, is one the most important families in Mount Frere.
From dumpsite champ to world boxing king
Just when he is about to munch on it, his peer shoots out a quick jab-like grab and gets it just before it disappears into his mouth.
Despite her 70 years Nowethu still does almost everything on her own, bar watching her grandson in the ring.
“I do not have a television set but even if I did I don’t think I could bring myself to watch him getting beaten up in the ring,” she said from Mgungondlovu village, a rural area in Mount Frere.
MaNdongeni lives with her grandchildren and Xolisani’s elder brother Sakhekile who, like most other villagers, is battling to find a job.
Despite carrying the financial burden of her grandchildren with the help of Ndongeni, Nowethu is content with life, especially as she lives in a large house built with his fight earnings.
“I never took this boxing thing seriously but look at me now. I am living in a mansion built by my grandson,” she said proudly.
In fact the gogo was dead set against the idea of Ndongeni taking up boxing when his then trainer came to ask for the family’s permission to allow him to follow a career in the sport.
Nowethu was with her daughter Lizeka, Ndongeni’s mother, in Duncan Village at the time.
“This man came to ask us to allow Xolisani to train in boxing and I immediately protested against the idea. It was his mother who gave the go-ahead.
“In my mind I had the picture of my grandson getting beaten to a pulp by a behemoth.”
It took some pleading from Ndongeni before Nowethu relented – and, she says, she also vowed to barge into the ring and beat up any boy who beat her son.
“Xolisani promised me that no one would ever beat him so I relaxed.”
True to his word, Ndongeni has yet to lose a fight in 22 bouts with stoppages. Instead he has collected numerous titles including two national crowns, two internationals and a world diadem.
This has earned him the nickname of Nomeva, which in turn helped him compose his trademark song. The catchy name – which translates loosely as ‘wasp’ – is not lost on Nowethu as villagers always ask her when he is coming back home.
“Everybody here asks me ‘when is Nomeva returning home’ and at first I did not know who they were talking about.”
After every victory Ndongeni is greeted with the singing of the song as he dances and plays to the crowd, but he knows there is one special thing he has to do immediately after his fights.
“He never forgets to call me and tell me about his win,” Nowethu says.
Before he fights Nowethu offers silent prayers to God asking him to guide her beacon of hope to safety. “God has plans for all of us. I never imagined that my grandson would become a household name by being involved in boxing.
“In fact I did not even have an idea what boxing was before besides knowing it as that thing that involves two men beating each other up. I never thought that it is a sport and that someone could make a living out of it.
“But look at me now. I have a mansion because of this boxing. Hail the Almighty.”
Nowethu says she is praying for Ndongeni to keep winning, especially given his pending trip to US, a country about which she admits she knows nothing.
When told that the US is the home of boxing, where boxers fight for big money, she erupts clapping: “You mean Xolisani will be able to make more money than he already does?”
With Lizeka having died in the early stages of Xolisani’s boxing career, his ring exploits have dried Nowethu’s tears over losing her daughter.
And now the Hlaya clan, to which Xolisani belongs, is one the most important families in Mount Frere.
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