Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - Boxing SA (BSA) has instructed its lawyers to recover R552 000 owed by Eastern Cape promoter Andile Sidinile in boxers’ purse money.
This follows the Sijuta Promotions boss’ failure to meet the payment deadline last Wednesday for Simpiwe “V12” Vetyeka, Xolisani “Nomeva” Ndongeni and Luzuko Siyo for their fights at the Orient Theatre in East London last April.
Vetyeka was not paid R300 000 due to him for his featherweight 10-round bout against Japan’s Tsuyoshi Tameda and Ndongeni did not receive his R100 000 for his 10-round lightweight scrap against Tanzanian Emilio Norfat on the same card.
Siyo, who fought Japan’s Yohei Tobe on the same bill for the World Boxing Association super flyweight championship, did not receive the R152 000 that was due to him. All these amounts add up to R552 000.
Seven other boxers who featured on the under-card were also not paid by Sidinile, but their sums have not been disclosed.
BSA came to the fighters’ rescue by settling their payments on behalf of Sidinile, with the impresario having to reimburse the boxing organisation. But he has not done so.
Outstanding purse money
The decision to have Sidinile pay the money through lawyers follows the suspension of his boxing licence after failing to meet the deadline to settle the money due to BSA.
This follows his failure to comply with the ruling of the disciplinary committee to settle all the outstanding purse money due to BSA by December 16 2016 or face suspension.
After being given 60 days from the final day of his hearing, Sidinile failed to comply with the deadline for paying his outstanding purse money by Wednesday.
BSA CEO Tsholofelo Lejaka said: “BSA has decided to lodge a civil claim to recover the money the promoter owes to it.
“We have decided to get back the money ... and now the matter is in the hands of our lawyers.”
He said the decision to involve the lawyers started in October.
“This was after BSA got letters from the boxers ceding promoters’ debts to the organisation.”
Independent committee
Lejaka said he was confident that BSA would be successful in getting Sidinile to pay up.
“No promoter who owes boxers will be allowed to promote fights any more,” explained Lejaka.
Attempts to get comment from Sidinile were unsuccessful as his cellphone was continuously turned off and SMSes sent to him went unanswered.
Another East London promoter, Siphatho Handi, who failed to pay local boxers, Filipino opponents and officials for a match staged at the Mdantsane Indoor Sport Centre in March 2015 owed the fighters R800 000.
He was found guilty by an independent committee and his licence was suspended for a year.
