Mmegi

In the Ring with France Lassie Mabiletsa

Mabiletsa's trophies and medals. PIC: PHATSIMO KAPENG
Mabiletsa's trophies and medals. PIC: PHATSIMO KAPENG

On April 6, 2026, exactly a year before April 6, 2027, which will mark the 40th anniversary of the famous and disputed bout between Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler, I pay a call to one of Botswana’s finest sporting exports, France Lassie Mabiletsa.

That 1987 clash at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, famously dubbed ‘The Super Fight’, ended not only in controversy, but in Marvin Hagler’s abrupt retirement from the sport. Nearly four decades later, in a quieter but no less symbolic moment, Mabiletsa, Botswana’s longest-reigning light heavyweight champion and Olympic trailblazer, is also stepping away.

Below, Mmegi’s scribe Maswabi, himself a retired ‘almost-was’ of the squared circle, steps back into the ring, not with gloves, but with questions. What follows is less an interview and more a 45-minute bout between memory and myth.

Editor's Comment
Exercise extra caution!

Unfortunately, petty thieves tend to be more vicious around this time as they also prepare for the festive season. Culturally, many Batswana go home for the holiday, and petty thieves are amongst those who go home. Burglaries, car break-ins, and attacks on unsuspecting pedestrians seem to be on the rise!That is not all, as scammers continue to take money from pensioners as well as other Batswana who may fall prey to their unscrupulous tactics....

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