Mlamli Madikane is still bitter for the nine years of his life he spent in prison for murder. But instead of moaning and groaning about it he has accepted the fact that he can never turn back the clock.
Now 38 years old he is chasing the belt when other boxers of his age are winding down their careers.
Which is why he is disappointed that his welterweight clash against Mzolisi Yoyo scheduled for Mdantsane Indoor arena will have no belt at stake.
“Initially we were promised that a WBF Intercontinental title would be at stake and that would have been a crowning moment for me to beat Yoyo for something,” he says.
“But a victory will still be a victory and hopefully it will open doors for me so I am super-motivated for this fight.”
Madikane will meet another senior citizen in Yoyo, who is a year younger than him, in a tournament promoted by Ayanda Matiti’s Xaba Promotions.
In fact the two boxers are older than Matiti, who is only 36 years old, but that does not deter them from continuing to slug it out in the ring.
But for Madikane, every fight is crucial as he does not have much time left in the ring. “I wasted a lot of time in prison although I know I must not be too hard on myself about it.”
Growing in the crime-infested and shack-littered Duncan Village township Madikane was part of the vigilante group that decided to get rid of criminals in the area.
“Crime was getting out of hand in the area with every second person either mugged or killed by the thugs,” he recalls.
Indeed several boxers including Luthando “Tate” Joni, Tamsanqa Dubase and others have lost their lives in Duncan Village through stabbing and other crime-related causes.
When one child was stabbed and killed in broad daylight, the community went on the rampage, searching and invading the shacks fishing out criminals.
“We found this boy who was the most notorious criminal and we beat him to death,” Madikane recalls.
Police arrived and arrested 15 of the vigilante group including Madikane.
After a trial that lasted two years Madikane and his co-defendants were slapped with different sentences ranging from seven to 15 years for killing the boy.
“I was handed a 15-year sentence while some of my colleagues were given eight, some nine and so forth.”
He decided to use the time in prison to study, train boxing and convert to Christianity.
This influenced the prison authorities to recommend him for an early release and after nine years he was paroled.
Since then Madikane has spent his time carving his own niche in boxing as well as participating in other community projects.
“I spend my time trying to make a difference in the community and boxing helps me in that regard,” he says.
Madikane is one of the Eastern Cape boxers who graduated from the learnership programme run by Boxing SA last year.
He passed with distinction but a job has been hard to come by.
“My certificate is gathering dust at home with all those distinctions.”
He has not only been suffering the scarcity of jobs but fights in the ring are also hard to come by.
As a result he has been fighting in three divisions accepting any bout in order to stay active.
For instance in his last bout he lost to Xolisani Ndongeni for the SA lightweight, succumbing in the seventh round.
Before then he had contested for the Eastern Cape junior-welterweight belt.
“I have to take fights in every division and prove myself despite the disadvantage I often encounter,” he says.
This has led to his patchy fight record which shows four losses and three draws in 16 bouts.
But he insists the welterweight bout against Yoyo is his real division.
“Yoyo will feel how to fight a fully-fledged welterweight,” he says of the former SA junior-welterweight champion’s move up in weight class.
“He has never fought in this division and he will discover that it is no chicken feed to take a boxer in his natural weight class.”
The fight will be the undercard to the vacant SA flyweight duel between Free State Doctor Ntsele and Thembelani Nxoshe.
Madikane‘s out to walk the talk in title bid
Now 38 years old he is chasing the belt when other boxers of his age are winding down their careers.
Which is why he is disappointed that his welterweight clash against Mzolisi Yoyo scheduled for Mdantsane Indoor arena will have no belt at stake.
“Initially we were promised that a WBF Intercontinental title would be at stake and that would have been a crowning moment for me to beat Yoyo for something,” he says.
“But a victory will still be a victory and hopefully it will open doors for me so I am super-motivated for this fight.”
Madikane will meet another senior citizen in Yoyo, who is a year younger than him, in a tournament promoted by Ayanda Matiti’s Xaba Promotions.
In fact the two boxers are older than Matiti, who is only 36 years old, but that does not deter them from continuing to slug it out in the ring.
But for Madikane, every fight is crucial as he does not have much time left in the ring. “I wasted a lot of time in prison although I know I must not be too hard on myself about it.”
Growing in the crime-infested and shack-littered Duncan Village township Madikane was part of the vigilante group that decided to get rid of criminals in the area.
“Crime was getting out of hand in the area with every second person either mugged or killed by the thugs,” he recalls.
Indeed several boxers including Luthando “Tate” Joni, Tamsanqa Dubase and others have lost their lives in Duncan Village through stabbing and other crime-related causes.
When one child was stabbed and killed in broad daylight, the community went on the rampage, searching and invading the shacks fishing out criminals.
“We found this boy who was the most notorious criminal and we beat him to death,” Madikane recalls.
Police arrived and arrested 15 of the vigilante group including Madikane.
After a trial that lasted two years Madikane and his co-defendants were slapped with different sentences ranging from seven to 15 years for killing the boy.
“I was handed a 15-year sentence while some of my colleagues were given eight, some nine and so forth.”
He decided to use the time in prison to study, train boxing and convert to Christianity.
This influenced the prison authorities to recommend him for an early release and after nine years he was paroled.
Since then Madikane has spent his time carving his own niche in boxing as well as participating in other community projects.
“I spend my time trying to make a difference in the community and boxing helps me in that regard,” he says.
Madikane is one of the Eastern Cape boxers who graduated from the learnership programme run by Boxing SA last year.
He passed with distinction but a job has been hard to come by.
“My certificate is gathering dust at home with all those distinctions.”
He has not only been suffering the scarcity of jobs but fights in the ring are also hard to come by.
As a result he has been fighting in three divisions accepting any bout in order to stay active.
For instance in his last bout he lost to Xolisani Ndongeni for the SA lightweight, succumbing in the seventh round.
Before then he had contested for the Eastern Cape junior-welterweight belt.
“I have to take fights in every division and prove myself despite the disadvantage I often encounter,” he says.
This has led to his patchy fight record which shows four losses and three draws in 16 bouts.
But he insists the welterweight bout against Yoyo is his real division.
“Yoyo will feel how to fight a fully-fledged welterweight,” he says of the former SA junior-welterweight champion’s move up in weight class.
“He has never fought in this division and he will discover that it is no chicken feed to take a boxer in his natural weight class.”
The fight will be the undercard to the vacant SA flyweight duel between Free State Doctor Ntsele and Thembelani Nxoshe.
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