Promoters are asking the courts to shut down boxing in SA, claiming it is being run illegally. However, TimesLIVE reports that the National Professional Boxing Promoters’ Association (NPBPA) said in papers before the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) that the sport could resume normally and quickly if they and Sports Minister Zizi Kodwa hammer out an agreement.

Having had the Boxing SA (BSA) board appointed by Kodwa interdicted in December, the promoters are now arguing that the latest move to keep the sport running is unlawful.

Kodwa last month appointed acting CEO Mandla Ntlanganiso as accounting authority, in terms of the Public Finance Management Act, to effectively replace the board on a temporary basis.

The Act states that the board must appoint the sanctioning and ratings committees, which are necessary for the professional game to operate.

However, the NPBPA is arguing that the appointment of Ntlanganiso as accounting authority was ‘irregular and invalid to the extent that it carries and/or confers in any way, shape or form upon (Ntlanganiso) the powers to sanction boxing fights/tournaments’.

TimesLIVE reports that the NPBPA also wants to court to rule that any sanctioning of fights and tournaments by BSA is ‘unlawful and invalid’.

The association, chaired by Ayanda Matiti, further wants the court to order Kodwa to meet the NPBPA within five days of this order ‘and establish … a temporary/interim solution that will see boxing taking place in a legitimate manner’.

They want Kodwa to announce resolutions from their meeting and that these would take place immediately.

Kodwa lost the interdict in December because he didn’t oppose the NPBPA’s urgent application in court, trying only to have the matter delayed.

Full TimesLIVE report