Young Boxer Likho Nxele Smashing it In the Ring and Out
Likho Nxele has made an enormous impact in the short time she has been in the boxing ring, she is already being touted as the sport’s brightest star and given her recent performances, it is not hard to see why. At the start of April Nxele bagged her first-ever professional victory at Scenery Park Community Hall in East London, where she completed a dominant TKO over the experienced Namhla Mankayi in the second round.
A mere two days later, she accomplished another feat when she graduated with a Bachelor of Education from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. The young boxer certainly has a bright future given her latest achievements, both in the ring as well as out of it.
Nxele shared some of her time with gsport to speak about how she got started in boxing, and what she hopes to achieve in the sport. She also highlighted one of her dreams is to be able to buy her parents their own house.
The Kuyasa Boxing Club Cape Town fighter highlighted how boxing has become a therapy for her, how she enjoys the social aspect of, bringing positivity to her life as she aspires to become a top boxer with hopes of a successful career in the ring.
How did your boxing career begin?
“I started boxing in 2019, when I was 16 years old. There is nothing that or a person who motivated me to start boxing. It was something that just came into my mind when I was with my friend. I just suggested that we should join boxing, and she agreed, but then she never started. When I started boxing, I had no intentions of going further with it, but my coach made me fall in love with it by introducing me to competitions, and my first win motivated me more.”
What is it about boxing that you love?
“What I love about boxing is that it teaches discipline. For instance, it keeps me out of the streets. Ever since I joined boxing, I never had a chance to be on the streets, having nothing to do and getting myself involved in drugs, for instance. It helps me a lot by keeping myself busy.
“The other thing I love about boxing is that it’s therapeutic. It’s where I can pour out my stress and anger, while hitting the bag. What I also love is, with sport you travel, meet new people, and socialise.”
You secured your first win with a TKO, how does it feel and how do you hope that it helps you to win more fights?
“Winning my first fight was very exciting to me, because I was scared. What made me scared was my opponent that I was fighting: She was more experienced than me, and her boxing record is terrific. She has three knockouts, but I trusted myself, because I trained for three months. I hope that this fight will open many doors for me, and I hope that the promoters have recognised me.
When you are in the ring boxing, how does it make you feel?
“When I am inside the boxing ring, I feel so calm and more focused. I forget about my stress and everything that bothered me. I just focus on what I’m doing (in the ring).”
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Now that you got your first win, how do you feel that helps you to get sponsors?
“I don’t have any financial assistance as a boxer, and it makes it difficult for me to train and to travel for sparring and for fights, as I’m not working, and my coach isn’t working. I would love it if I could get a sponsor, so that I can enhance my training. For instance, if I could have sponsors for training gear, diet, and transportation, that would help me to be even more motivated and to be more fit. I would deeply appreciate that.
“I hope the sponsors will be impressed with my fight and have an interest in sponsoring me with whatever they can. Anything will be highly appreciated as long it’ll be assisting my boxing career to continue, and also it’ll help them advertise their products.”
What would be your message to your girls who want to become a boxer?
“All I can say to young boxers is that they never stop moving. It’s all about dedication, hard work, discipline, and perseverance. Respect yourself, your coach, your manager, and all other people.”
What do you hope to achieve in your career?
“The most important thing I want to achieve is buying my parents a house. I come from a poor background in the Eastern Cape, and also here in Cape Town, I live in Khayelitsha, Nkanini, a place known for its high crime rate, and I live in a shack.
“My dream is to get my parents out of Nkanini and get them a house so that we can live a peaceful life without fear. I want to do this for my parents while they are still alive. I believe that boxing can do that for me, because I’ve seen it work for others as well.”
You recently graduated, what does it mean to you to have completed this?
“I feel extremely grateful for my recent graduation as it was not an easy journey at all. It was not easy even from the year I came to Cape Town. I faced many challenges, one of them was that nobody supported me financially.”
“I only depended on NSFAS, which was not enough for a person, but it made a difference. Both my parents are not working, it was difficult for me. I could not afford many things. but I told myself that one day I will be able to afford everything.”
How important is it that sportswomen also pursue academic qualifications?
“I think it’s important for every sportswoman to pursue academic qualifications so that even if boxing ends, she will have something to fall back on, you can call it a backup. There can be uncertainty over what the future of boxing holds for us. You can get injured, and your boxing career could be over. So it’s very important for all sportswomen to also pursue academic qualifications.”
Main Photo Caption: Likho Nxele has made an enormous impact in the short time she has been in the boxing ring, already being touted as the sport’s brightest star and given her recent performances it is not hard to see why. All Photos: Supplied
Photo 2 Caption: Nxele bagged her first-ever professional victory at Scenery Park Community Hall in East London barely a month ago.
Photo 3 Caption: Her first pro fight was won when she completed a dominant TKO against Namhla Mankayi in the second round.
Crédito: Link de origem