adminJohannesburg – Jacob “Baby Jake” Matlala will always be remembered for his humility, Peter Ngatane said at the boxing legend’s memorial service in Nasrec, Johannesburg, yesterday. Ngatane is president of the Commonwealth Boxing Council and former chairperson of Boxing SA (BSA).
“He was very spiritual and always insisted that after every training session at the Dube Boxing Club (in Soweto) that we must pray, as he felt the world was not always a safe place,” he said.
The former flyweight world champion, who died in Johannesburg last Saturday, aged 51, also understood boxing could be brutal, Ngatane said.
There was a sombre mood and gospel music playing softly in the background as former boxers, family and friends gathered, waiting for the formalities to get underway.
Dingaan Thobela, known as “The Rose of Soweto” and Masibulele “The Hawk” Makepula were at the service at the Nasrec Expo Centre, formerly the home of Gauteng Boxing and BSA. The hall was set up as a mock boxing ring and was where pre-fight weigh-ins took place in the 1990s.
Makepula, now a pastor, conducted the opening prayer. He fought and beat Matlala in February 1990.
Arguably the most successful boxer produced by South Africa, Matlala, the four-time world flyweight (50kg) champion, was born in Meadowlands, Soweto on August 1, 1962.-Sport24.
Online Reporter