Francistown is bracing for another gold rush; the ring is all set for the inaugural Gold Rush boxing tournament as the national lightweight title is up for grabs.
In what is expected to bring professional boxing back to its glory days, the eight-round tournament is slated for the 24th of this month at Adansonia hotel. The much-hyped tournament’s headline bout is between heavyweights Moabi “The Eagle” Ngaka and Ontlafetse Mayweather Phane. The two ‘homies’ are raring to exchange blow after blow to clinch the country’s most coveted title in professional boxing.
In a press briefing held recently, Technical Director of Perfect Punch Boxing, Larona Francis said,” the tournament is geared at bringing back professional boxing to Francistown and to make the city the capital of boxing. This city and its surrounding areas are rich in boxing talent and it is our intention to harness this talent. Groom the talent and grow the fame of boxing like other sports codes.”
“Boxers from Botswana are highly acclaimed in the region. Our athletes are highly respected and we have quality talent here compared to Namibia and South Africa.”
Apart from other upcoming local boxers who are transitioning into the professional space, The Gold Rush Tournament is expected to attract boxers from South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
“We are yet to finalise contracts with some of the boxers from across our borders. At the moment we are not yet at liberty to announce the names of the boxers who will also be fighting during the is tournament. All I can say is we expect boxers from outside our borders,” said the Technical Director of Perfect Punch.
The organisers are appealing to residents of Francistown, avid boxing fans, business community and other sports enthusiasts to support the tournament.
“We have seen that our city has now become the sport centre for football, athletics and other sports. Let us bring and make this city the home of boxing too. This is one way of diversifying the economy of city. Sports tourism is the way to go”, highlighted Francis. Besides fighting to be title holders Ngaka and Phane will also know before the tournament how much is in store for them in the boxers’ purse.
