Tswiigi upbeat ahead of championships
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday October 21, 2023 06:00
With the Botswana Boxing Association (BoBA) National Championships looming on November 11 and 12, Tswiigi, though unbeaten, is yet to decide which weight class to dominate.
He told MmegiSport he attributed his success to sheer hard work. "I think it would be interesting if my supporters were to choose for me the division I should fight in. I just want to prove to everyone that I can win against any opponent that comes before me," he remarked. Highlighting the challenge of favouritism in boxing, Tswiigi noted the tendency to favour boxers in certain categories. Despite his victories, he expressed frustration with the national team selection process.
"I dropped my weight last year to 63kg during national team trials and it was an agreement I had with the coach but the BoBA executive committee rejected me. They felt that I had never fought in the 63kg division, but it was a strategy to include somebody else that they had in their plans. (It was) a person that I always beat all the time we faced off," he recalled.
Tswiigi, having been part of the national team from 2012 to 2019, emphasised his consistency and questioned the fairness of the selection process. "I competed against boxers from countries like Uganda and Kenya, who were part of their national teams despite losses. Now they are professional boxers. You cannot keep excluding someone from the team and then claim they aren't performing when they aren't given a chance to prove themselves. I wasn't unsuccessful; the system failed me," he asserted.
Looking forward, Tswiigi aims to accumulate points for Prisons Boxing Club to secure the national champions title. BoBA secretary-general, Taolo Tlouetsile, highlighted the upcoming BoBA National Championships hosted by the Eastern Military Garrison Boxing Club in Selebi-Phikwe. “We believe the club is preparing well for the tournament.
As you may be aware, we played fewer tournaments this year; we set three bouts for men and two for women as qualifying standards. The youth will play but not add points to the clubs,” Tlouetsile said. When asked about attendance at inter-club tournaments, Tlouetsile said club participation was below what they expected and there was nothing they could do because they did not have sponsorship. “Youth participation has increased but there has been no increase in women's participation. Men's participation has increased, especially in weights above 69kg. This year we even had bouts in the 91kg,” Tlouetsile said.