Simnikiwe Bongco is South Africa’s leading amateur hope at 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham
Locked and loaded Bongco chasing a dream
By GARY LEMKE in Birmingham
They call it one of the ‘prettiest punches’ in all boxing. When applied correctly, it can change the course of a fight in a split second. Simnikiwe Bongco throws it and it thuds into the heavy bag. He stops, admiring his work. “Yoh! My left hook is too dangerous,” he smiles. “It’s my powerpoint. I can punch your lights out at any time with it,” he says.
Bongco is South Africa’s latest leading amateur hope. Like so many boxers before him, he grew up on the dangerous streets of the Duncan Village township outside East London. The Eastern Cape is a traditional hotbed of the sport and the 21-year-old is 2022’s international-class product from the region.
Without exaggerating the point, he knows his life could have unfolded differently, but he has worked his way out of poverty and hardship to represent his country at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. “It wasn’t easy growing up in that environment,” he says, with a degree of understatement. “Some of my friends ended up in gangs, others in prison. I decided a long time ago to dedicate myself to boxing, and stay away from the distractions. I live, eat and sleep for boxing.
“I’ve made a lot of sacrifices and I train like a demon. Even when there are no fights or tournaments planned, I still train. The December holidays is no holiday for me. I tried soccer as a young boy but it wasn’t for me. I went to watch boxing tournaments in the townships and decided at an early age that’s what I wanted to do.”
Bongco comes up against a man who is widely tipped to win a medal at these Commonwealth Games, Grenada’s Kemrond Moses, on Wednesday night in the quarter-finals of the middleweight division (75kg). “He will come to fight, I have watched him. Which is good news, because I will take him on if he wants a war. I’m dangerous, the full package.”
It’s common for boxers to talk the talk but Bongco is convinced he has the tools to walk the walk. “I am a humble guy, I really am. I was raised properly by my mom and she helped me so much when I was growing up. She encouraged me to follow my dreams and believed in me. I would push myself, making a lot of sacrifices. I lived a clean life and on weekends I would train, even by myself if needed.
“I never got into fights outside of the ring. My coach [Mzamo ‘Chief’ Njekanje] always instilled in his boxers that we stay humble and don’t react to provocation. There’s Sim the boxer and Sim the guy who is trying to catch up on his sleep after training. That’s it.”
Bongco won his opening fight of these Commonwealth Games against Gambia’s Foday Badjie on points – all five judges scored in his favour – but knows he needs to step up a level against Moses. “I am much better than that performance, even though I won easily. I came here to win the gold medal, nothing less. I respect Moses, but I promise you, I can fight. This is a big platform for me and it’s a chance for me to make my big breakthrough.”
The middleweight says his hero growing up was Roy Jones Jnr, the gifted American who lost only one of his first 50 fights as he won world titles at middleweight, super-middleweight and light-heavyweight. “I watched him a lot and modelled my style on him. I really do think we have a similar style. I can box from the outside, defend and move. I am fast, faster than some lightweights. But, like Roy Jones, I can also hit hard. My left hook, hah! As I said, I’m the full package!”
Bongco won’t even entertain the thought of defeat as he chases his lifelong goals. They include gold here in Birmingham and then gold at the Paris Olympics in 2024. We’ve seen this movie before, though, when promoters have spotted amateur talent and offered them amounts of money to turn professional perhaps before they are ready. Money is a temptation for anyone, especially those who have grown up in financially squeezed circumstances.
“I’m not thinking of turning pro. All my focus is on the here and now. It’s dangerous in this sport to be distracted. I believe I have a God-given talent and I am going to use it to provide for me and my family. I hope sponsors will see the value of having good amateurs in South Africa. I love representing my country and I want to be known as one of South Africa’s greatest-ever amateurs even before I consider turning pro. But that depends on support.”
Bongco claims he’s had over 200 amateur fights. “The number is 217. I’ve had five losses and three draws since I started boxing in 2008. I can’t even remember the last time I lost, it’s a long time ago.”
For all his experience, in which time he’s been crowned South African champion on four occasions, the Commonwealth Games is only the second time he has fought internationally, with the first being at the Zone 4 Games in Mozambique in March. “I won gold there, and now I’ve won my first fight at the Commonwealth Games. I’m here to showcase my talent internationally.
“I only know one way to fight – and that’s to win. I’m a hard puncher but in the amateurs there’s more emphasis on hitting and not getting hit. You have to collect the points while you can and the stoppage is a bonus.”
Bongco has been spending his downtime in Birmingham watching boxing videos on his phone. “There’s a lot of waiting, but it’s what I have to do. I go down [from the room] to the gym and outside of the two training sessions a day I will sneak down there and do some shadow boxing. It’s because I love it.”
He then puts on his game face. A right hand is followed by another thudding left hook, leaving a dent in the heavy bag. Simphiwe Bongco is ready to fight.
Source:TeamSA
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