On many occasions, South African athletes have helped put the country on the global stage, making Mzansi proud of their accomplishments in their home country and abroad. Even though those in the arena of soccer and rugby seem to be frequently dominating the news headlines, South African boxers have also brought glory days to the country. The nation boasts of talented boxers who have claimed prestigious titles in international events and local competitions.
Some of these boxers, who now rank among the greatest in South Africa, are considered among the world best, having claimed a handful of World Championship belts. As boxing is rated as one of the most-loved sports in the country, it might interest you to learn about the greatest South African boxers of all time who have won many titles throughout their career, ranging from heavyweight and bantamweight titles to flyweight titles and Olympic medals.
20 Greatest South African Fighters You Should Know
20. Mbulelo Botile
- No. of titles won: 3
- Career bouts: 31
- No. of knockout matches: 16
- Years active: 1980s – 2005
- Major titles: IBF bantamweight title, IBF, and IBO featherweight titles
Taking the 20th spot on our list of greatest South African boxers of all time is Mbulelo Botile. The retired boxer had a colorful professional career before hanging his gloves in 2005. The 51 years old fought in different weight classes, including bantamweight, featherweight, and super featherweight, during his active career. Out of the 31 career bouts he had, he won 27 and lost 4.
He made his pro debut in the year 1989 and then went on to achieve a highly successful career by emerging victoriously in his first 21 fights. In the process, he clinched the IBF bantamweight title after defeating Harold Mestre in 1995. He eventually lost the title after suffering a TKO defeat at the hands of Tim Austin two years later.
In 2000, he debuted in the featherweight and fought against IBF featherweight titleholder, Paul Ingie, defeating him with a twelfth-round TKO to emerge as the IBF and IBO featherweight champion. After moving to super featherweight, Botile was defeated by Cassius Baloyi, which led to his retirement in 2002. He made a comeback in 2005 and retired that same year after being knocked out by Anthony Tshehla.
19. Virgil Kalakoda
- No. of titles won: 3
- Career bouts: 36
- Years active: 1996 – 2012
- No. of knockout matches: 16
- Major titles: International Boxing Council (IBC) light middleweight world title, WBN Intercontinental light middleweight title, IBF Intercontinental light middleweight title
Nicknamed “The Conqueror,” Virgil Kalakoda is a former light-middleweight champion who ranks as one of the greatest South African boxers of all time. He mostly fought at the Full Body Impact Gym in Sydney, Australia. Before his retirement, he also competed in K-1 Max, a martial arts brand known globally for organizing kickboxing heavyweight division fights and tournaments.
During his amateur career, he had 10 bouts and lost only one. He became a professional boxer at the age of 18 in 1996. He then won his first seven fights before losing to Pascal Mtungu in the next year. Then between 2000 and 2003, Virgil won thirteen straight fights and, in the process, claimed many titles.
They include the International Boxing Council (IBC) light middleweight title, the IBF Intercontinental light middleweight title, and WBN Intercontinental light middleweight title. He debuted as a kickboxer at the K-1 World Max 2005 World Tournament in May 2005 and retired in 2012.
18. Ludumo Lamati
- No. of titles won: 5
- Career bouts: 19
- No. of knockout matches: 10
- Years active: 2000s – present
- Major titles: IBO super bantamweight title, IBF Intercontinental super bantamweight title, African super bantamweight title, South African super bantamweight title
Professional boxer Ludumo Lamati competed in the 2011 World Championships and equally in the 2011 All-Africa Games as an amateur. He is currently the IBO super bantamweight champion and has been holding onto the title since June 2021. The 31 years old boxer was born in Mdantsane, South Africa, on May 19th, 1992.
Nicknamed after semiautomatic pistol as “9mm” by his former trainer, Nick Durandt, Lamati has thus far competed in 19 fights. He won eighteen of them and drew one. Then as an amateur, he had more than 100 bouts and lost only 10. He debuted as a professional boxer in April 2014 in Johannesburg.
Later, he signed a promotional deal with Siesta Boxing Promotions based in Southampton, England, in July 2018. He fought only once in the promotion and then returned to South Africa in 2019. Despite not fighting in 2020, the skillful boxer was ranked 4th in the WBC divisional rankings that year. He is a two-time IBF Intercontinental champion.
17. Phillip Ndou
- No. of titles won: Over 3
- Career bouts: 42
- No. of knockout matches: 34
- Years active: Early 1990s – 2004
- Major titles: World Boxing Union featherweight title, All-Africa Games silver medal
World title challenger Phillip Ndou garnered popularity in the boxing arena for having remarkable punching power. This attribute helped him win his first 30 out of 32 fights with a knockout or stoppage win. Despite hanging his gloves, he recently boasted about an 81 percent knockout ratio.
The retired boxer had a total career fight of 42. He won 37 and lost 5. During his active career, he fought in a different weight class. They include featherweight, super featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight. He was born in Thohoyandou in Limpopo, South Africa, on May 4th, 1977.
Throughout his pro career, Ndou didn’t clinch a major world title. Nonetheless, he won several regional and minor featherweight and super featherweight titles. In 1995, he won a silver medal at the All-Africa Games and equally bagged the World Boxing Union featherweight title. He fought against the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Isaac Hlatshwayo.
16. Francois Botha
- No. of titles won: 5
- Career bouts: 63
- No. of knockout matches: 29
- Years active: 1990 – 2015
- Major titles: WBF World heavyweight title, IBF heavyweight title, Transvaal heavyweight title, WBA-NABA heavyweight title
Famously known for bagging the IBF heavyweight title against Axel Schulz in 1995, legendary South African boxer Francois “Frans” Botha had an alluring career as a pro boxer and kickboxer, which spanned from 1990 to 2015 when he retired. After winning the IBF heavyweight title in 1995, he was stripped of it after failing a drug test.
During his active career, he competed against great boxing talents such as Evander Holyfield, Wladimir Klitschko, and Mike Tyson. Francois was born in Witbank, South Africa, on September 28th, 1968. He had a pro boxing record of 48 wins, 11 losses, and 3 draws, having contested in a total fight of 63.
He first hung his gloves as a boxer in 2014, and the following year, he retired as a kickboxer. He also competed in mixed martial arts in 2004. Before his retirement, Botha emerged as the interim WBF World heavyweight champion in July 2007 and later won the vacant WBF heavyweight title in South Africa in February 2009.
15. Laurie Stevens
- No. of titles won: 5
- Career bouts: 42
- Years active: 1930 – 1946
- No. of knockout matches: 19
- Major titles: Olympic gold medal, featherweight silver medal, South African lightweight title, British Empire lightweight title, South African welterweight title
Lawrence Stevens is one of the South African greatest boxers of all time. The late boxer was popularly known for his exploits in the 1932 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles. He represented his home country in the Olympic games, contesting in the lightweight class, and brought home a gold medal.
Before that, he took part in the 1930 British Empire Games held in Hamilton, Ontario, and won the featherweight silver medal after suffering defeat at the hands of Frank Meachem. Laurie started boxing at Johannesburg-based Twist Street School and made his amateur debut as a featherweight at the age of 17 in 1930.
The adroit boxer won the South African lightweight title the following year before making his professional debut on December 3rd, 1932. Then in the next year, he fought eight matches and won all, including his victory over George “Panther” Purchase, which landed him the South African lightweight title for the second time.
He further won the British Empire lightweight title in January 1936 and the South African welterweight title three years later. Laurie Stevens retired from pro boxing in 1946. He had a career bout of 42 and recorded 36 wins, 2 losses, and a draw. He passed away at the age of 76 on August 17th, 1989.
14. Digaan Thobela
- No. of titles won: 5
- Career bouts: 56
- No. of knockout matches: 26
- Years active: Early ’80s – 2006
- Major titles: WBO lightweight title, WBA lightweight title, IBO welterweight title, South African super middleweight title, WBC super-middleweight title
@DingaanT @GoldenGlovesSA @AFRICANRING Happy BDay to the Legend, 3 times world Boxing Champ, The Rose of Soweto!! pic.twitter.com/HNcGqTrESV
— Brian Mitchell (@brianmitchell14) September 24, 2014
Another great South African boxer whose achievements speak volumes in his home country and on the global stage is Dingaan Thobela. He is a former two-time lightweight world champion and a former super middleweight champion. The former professional boxer was born in Soweto, South Africa, on September 24th, 1966, and was nicknamed “The Rose of Soweto.”
He kickstarted his amateur career in the early 1980s and then debuted as a pro boxer in 1986. Four years later, he emerged the WBO lightweight champion. Later in 1993, he recorded a victory over Tony Lopez in their second encounter that year, which helped him capture the WBA lightweight title.
After moving up to the super middleweight division, Thobela won the WBC super-middleweight title in 2000 after defeating the former titleholder by a 12th round knockout. He retired from boxing on October 27th, 2006.
13. Zolani Tete
- No. of titles won: 7
- Career bouts: 33
- No. of knockout matches: 22
- Years active: 2000s – present
- Major titles: WBF flyweight title, IBF junior bantamweight, WBO bantamweight title, WBO African flyweight title, IBF flyweight title, WBO African junior bantamweight title, IBF International bantamweight title
Zolani Tete is an eminent South African boxer who ranks among the nation’s greatest boxers in history. He is a former two-weight world champion. From 2014 to 2015, he was the reigning IBF junior bantamweight champion. Then later in 2017, he won the WBO bantamweight title, which he later lost in 2019.
Also known by the nickname “Last Born,” Tete competes in flyweight, super-flyweight, and bantamweight divisions. He was born in Eastern Cape, South Africa, on March 8th, 1988, and started boxing at the age of eight. He reportedly had more than 400 amateur bouts and lost only three. After debuting as a professional boxer in 2006, Zolani Tete won his first eight fights, including the WBF flyweight title.
He subsequently went through a series of defeats and then bounced back to win the IBF junior-bantamweight title by an impressive unanimous decision in July 2014, defeating Teiru Kinoshita. Later in 2016, he debuted in the bantamweight and emerged as the WBO bantamweight champion soon after. He eventually lost the title to former world champion John Riel Casimero in 2019.
12. Kevin Lerena
- No. of titles won: 7
- Career bouts: 27
- No. of knockout matches: 13
- Years active: Late 2000s – present
- Major titles: South African cruiserweight title, Pan African cruiserweight title, IBO cruiserweight title, WBF African cruiserweight title
Having been ranked as the fifth-best active cruiserweight globally by The Ring Magazine, Kevin Lerena is undoubtedly one of the SA’s elite boxers. The young pro boxer was born in Johannesburg on May 5th, 1992, and competed in the cruiserweight division. He is nicknamed “2 Guns” and “The KO Kid.”
Thus far in his career, Lerena has only suffered one defeat and has registered 26 wins from 27 career bouts. He debuted as a professional boxer in a fight against Justice Siliga in November 2011 and defeated him with a second-round knockout. Four years later, he emerged as the South African cruiserweight champion and successfully defended the title for years, racking up more titles along the way.
In 2016, he won the vacant Pan African cruiserweight title with a tenth-round knockout. Then in the next year, he emerged as the IBO cruiserweight champion by a split decision. Since then, he has been successfully defending the title, defeating the likes of Dmytro Kucher, Sefer Seferi, and Firat Arslan.
11. Cassius Baloyi
- No. of titles won: 8
- Career bouts: 46
- Years active: Early ’90s – 2012
- No. of knockout matches: 19
- Major titles: IBF super featherweight title, IBF and IBO super featherweight titles, IBO lightweight title, WBU featherweight title, WBU World super bantamweight title, WBU super featherweight title
Retired South African pro boxer Cassius Baloyi is a former IBO and IBF super featherweight champion and thus, ranks among the nation’s greatest boxers. He was born Ponani Cassius Baloyi and had the nicknames “The Hit Man” and “Mr. Shy Guy” during his active career. His birthplace is Malamulele in South Africa, and his birthdate is November 5th, 1974.
He made his professional debut in 1994, and in 2002, he won the IBO lightweight title. Cassius defeated Manuel Medina by a TKO win to claim the vacant IBF and IBO super featherweight titles in 2006. Soon after, he lost the titles but later regained them in April 2008. In that same year, he was named Boxer of the Year at the Boxing SA Annual Awards.
The retired boxer is reportedly the only South African with a record of six world title wins. After his retirement in October 2012, Baloyi began working as an amateur and pro boxing coach in Johannesburg. He serves as the owner of The Cassius Baloyi Boxing Academy.
10. Thabiso Mchunu
- No. of titles won: 8
- Career bouts: 29
- No. of knockout matches: 13
- Years active: 2000s – present
- Major titles: South African cruiserweight title, WBA Pan African cruiserweight title, African cruiserweight title, WBC-NABF cruiserweight title, WBC Silver cruiserweight title, WBO cruiserweight title
Nicknamed “The Rock,” Thabiso Mchunu is a South African pro boxer with a boxing record of 23 wins and six losses, having competed in a total of 29 fights so far. After making his professional debut in July 2007, he moved on to clinch the South African cruiserweight title in February 2008.
In that same year, the 36 years old boxer won the WBA Pan African cruiserweight title after defeating Marciano Commey by a first-round knockout. He successfully defended the title before losing it to Zack Mwekassa in October 2011. He competed for the vacant African cruiserweight title in the following year and won by a fifth-round knockout.
Later in 2013, he made his United States debut against Eddie Chambers in Montville, Connecticut, and won by unanimous decision. Thabiso Mchunu then established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the boxing arena when he bagged the WBC-NABFcruiserweight title in January 2014.
He further emerged as an African and South African cruiserweight champion in June 2017. After losing some matches in late 2017 and 2018, he returned to the winning ways and ended up as the WBC Silver cruiserweight champion after defeating former unified cruiserweight champion Denis Lebedev in Russia on December 21st, 2019.
9. Mzukisi Sikali
- No. of titles won: 7
- Career bouts: 38
- No. of knockout matches: 17
- Years active: 1992 – 2005
- Major titles: South African junior flyweight title, IBO flyweight title, World Boxing Union (WBU) junior bantamweight title, the World Boxing Union (WBU) junior flyweight title
Late South African boxer Mzukisi Sikali cemented his status as a legendary boxer after winning the world title in three different weight classes, namely junior flyweight, flyweight, and super flyweight. He was born in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa, on July 30th, 1971, and passed away on September 16th, 2005, at the age of 34.
Sadly, he was murdered by two muggers whom he tried to fight off in Uitenhage near Port Elizabeth as he was stabbed to death. As one of South Africa’s greatest boxers, Sikali won 29 bouts out of 38 career bouts he had before meeting his untimely death. He lost seven fights and drew two. Also, he was a former IBO flyweight champion.
The late boxer had a wealth of skill and was a three-time former world champion. He won the South African junior flyweight title in the year 1994. He then fought mostly overseas from 1998 to 2002. During that time, Sikali won the World Boxing Union (WBU) junior flyweight title in Thailand in 1996. Two years later, he emerged as the WBU junior bantamweight champion in Italy.
8. Corrie Sanders
- No. of titles won: 3
- Career bouts: 46
- No. of knockout matches: 31
- Years active: 1989 – 2008
- Major titles: WBO heavyweight title, South African heavyweight title, World Boxing Union heavyweight title
Another boxer who ranks among the greatest South African boxers of all time is a former pro boxer, Cornelius Johannes Sanders, known professionally as Corrie Sanders. He achieved one of the greatest upsets in heavyweight boxing history during his active career. He defeated former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko with a 2nd round knockout to win the WBO heavyweight title in 2003.
Meanwhile, he won the vacant South African heavyweight title in 1991. Then from 1997 to 2000, Sanders held the World Boxing Union heavyweight title. Before that, he unsuccessfully challenged for the vacant WBC and The Ring heavyweight titles. He was nicknamed “The Sniper” and was known for having a formidable knockout power in his left hand.
Making his pro debut in 1989, the former national champion defeated King Kong Dyubele with a first-round knockout. He won his next 22 fights before getting defeated by Nate Tubbs. He ended his career in February 2008 after suffering a knockout defeat at the hands of Osborne Machimana while challenging for the SA heavyweight title.
7. Jacob Matlala
- No. of titles won: over 5
- Career bouts: 68
- No. of knockout matches: 26
- Years active: Late 1970s – 2002
- Major titles: World Boxing Organisation flyweight title, South African junior flyweight title, International Boxing Association flyweight title, World Boxing Union (WBU) junior flyweight title
Jacob Matlala, nicknamed “Baby Jake,” was a South African pro boxer voted #72 in the 100 greatest South Africans poll organized by the South African Broadcasting Corporation. He had a well-decorated career as a flyweight and light flyweight. Matlala had a total career fight of 68. He won 53, lost 13, and drew 2.
In addition to being prominent for winning four world championship titles, Baby Jake was also famous for his height as he was the shortest boxing world champion ever, with a height of 4 feet 10 inches (1.47 meters). Throughout his career that lasted for over a decade and a half, he won the World Boxing Organisation title.
He also clinched the International Boxing Association flyweight, South African junior flyweight, and World Boxing Union (WBU) titles. He later presented his WBU belt to former South African president Nelson Mandela. Jacob Matlala was born in Meadowlands, Gauteng, South Africa, on August 1st, 1962, and died at 51 on December 7th, 2013.
6. Thulani Malinga
- No. of titles won: 9
- Career bouts: 57
- No. of knockout matches: 20
- Years active: 1981 – 2000
- Major titles: Natal middleweight title, South African middleweight title, South African light heavyweight title, African super middleweight, WBC super-middleweight title, WBF (Federation) super middleweight title, WBO super middleweight title
Thulani Malinga, known professionally as “Sugar Boy,” is a former two-time WBC super middleweight champion. The retired pro boxer was active in the boxing arena from 1981 to 2000. During such time, he competed in middleweight, super middleweight, and light heavyweight divisions. His astounding achievements during his pro career have ensured that he ranks among the greatest South African boxers of all time.
During his amateur career, Sugar Boy had 185 bouts and lost just 10. Then in his pro career, he had 57 total fights and won 44 out of which 20 were by knockout wins. He then lost 13 fights to pro boxers such as Lindell Holmes and Chris Eubank. Soon after his pro debut in August 1981, he won the Natal middleweight title. Then in 1993, he won the vacant South African middleweight title and the South African light heavyweight title three years later.
He later emerged African super middleweight champion in 1994. Before his retirement, Malinga won the WBC super-middleweight title twice in England in 1996 and 1997. He also won the WBF (Federation) super middleweight title in Denmark in June 1998.
5. Willie Toweel
- No. of titles won: over 8
- Career bouts: 54
- No. of knockout matches: 23
- Years active: 1948 – 1960
- Major titles: South African bantamweight title, South African featherweight title, South African lightweight title, South African welterweight title, British Empire title, Olympic bronze medal, East Rand, Transvaal Junior, and Senior Championships titles
The Toweel brothers are quite famous in the boxing arena, and it’s very hard for one of them to miss being ranked among the greatest South African boxers of all time. Willie Michael Toweel was born on April 6th, 1934, and died on December 25th, 2017, at the age of 83. He was the trainer of famous world champions such as Thulani Malinga and Brian Mitchell.
As an amateur boxer, Willie represented South Africa at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, and brought home a bronze medal in the flyweight division. Then in the next year, he turned pro, and soon after, he defeated Matthew Raff to claim the vacant South African bantamweight title that same year.
He went on to rack up more wins and titles, moving up to the lightweight division. His career, however, was affected by the tragedy in 1956 when he fought against 21-year-old South African boxer Hubert Essakow in defense of his South African featherweight title. The youngster sustained fatal brain injuries in the fight and eventually passed on 52 hours after the fight.
Consequently, Willie Toweel decided to be holding back his attack on many of his opponents to the point that he was disqualified in a fight due to a low blow. He retired from boxing at the age of 27 in October 1960. He ended his career as a national champion at four different weights―bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight. He was also ranked among the top five lightweights in the world at the time of his retirement.
4. Vic Toweel
- No. of titles won: over 8
- Career bouts: 32
- No. of knockout matches: 14
- Years active: 1941 – 1954
- Major titles: South African bantamweight title, South African featherweight title, Commonwealth British Empire bantamweight title, World bantamweight title, NBA, NYSAC, and The Ring bantamweight titles
South Africa’s only undisputed world champion, Vic Toweel, was born Victor Anthony Toweel in Benoni, Gauteng, South Africa, on January 12th, 1928. He was the second eldest brother of the six Toweel brothers and had an illustrious boxing career as he was the first South African boxer to hold a world title.
During his amateur career, he achieved an outstanding record of 188 wins with only two losses. He won about 160 bouts by knockout. Vic also won several belts as an amateur between 1941 and 1948. They include the East Rand, Transvaal, and South African Junior and Senior titles.
He further competed in the Summer Olympics held in London in 1948 but was eliminated in the first round. The legendary boxer then turned pro in January 1949, and in his fourth fight, he clinched the South African bantamweight title, and later in his ninth bout, he claimed the South African featherweight title.
He subsequently won the Commonwealth British Empire bantamweight title in his 11th fight, and in his 14th bout, at the age of 21, he emerged as the world bantamweight champion. He moved on to cement his status as an elite boxer after defeating one of the greatest bantamweight champions of all time, Manuel Ortiz.
3. Gerrie Coetzee
- No. of titles won: Over 4
- Career bouts: 40
- No. of knockout matches: 21
- Years active: 1974 – 1997
- Major titles: Transvaal (White) heavyweight title, South African heavyweight title, WBA heavyweight title
Gerrie Coetzee, a former South African pro boxer, was the first African to win a world heavyweight championship title (WBA title). From 1974 through 1997, when he retired from professional boxing, Gerrie had an impressive record of defeating top boxers in the world. They include WBA world heavyweight champion Michael Dokes and former unified world heavyweight champion Leon Spinks.
Following Muhammad Ali’s retirement, the WBA heavyweight title was left vacant. As a result, Coetzee was challenged for the title, emerging as the first African-born heavyweight to ever challenge for a world title. He made a second attempt at the world title in 1980 and was unsuccessful.
Later in 1983, he defeated Michael Dokes with a tenth-round knockout to become the first South African world heavyweight champion. The fight was named The Upset of The Year by KO Magazine. Though Coetzee defeated Dokes with a powerful punch, he was hurt the more as his right hand got broken and was fixed by surgery five days after the fight in New York City.
2. Vuyani Bungu
- No. of titles won: over 5
- Career bouts: 44
- No. of knockout matches: 19
- Years active: 1987 – 2005
- Major titles: Cape super bantamweight title, South African super bantamweight title, IBF super bantamweight title, IBO featherweight title
Vuyani Bungu is so talented that his amazing displays in the ring earned him nicknames such as “The Beast” and “Carousel Kid.” His career spanned for more than a decade and a half, and during such time, he emerged as the IBF junior featherweight reigning champion from 1994 to 1999.
He also held the IBO featherweight title from 2004 to 2005. Vuyani Bungu debuted as a professional boxer in the year 1987. Later in 1994, he had a shocking upset victory over Kennedy McKinney, which handed him the International Boxing Federation (IBF) super bantamweight title.
Consequently, the fight was named by Ring Magazine in 1994 as the Upset of the Year. He then successfully defended the title 13 times and relinquished it in 2000 when he moved up to featherweight. Bungu won the vacant IBO featherweight title in 2004 and then retired the following year after losing the title to Thomas Mashaba.
1. Brian Mitchell
- No. of titles won: Over 4
- Career bouts: 49
- No. of knockout matches: 21
- Years active: 1970s – 1995
- Major titles: South African super featherweight title, WBA and The Ring super-featherweight titles, IBF super featherweight title
@juanitamitchell pic.twitter.com/KZNv0XYKR0”
— Brian Mitchell (@brianmitchell14) August 28, 2013
Brian Mitchell is considered the greatest South African boxer of all time by many for defending the WBA and Lineal junior lightweight title on the road for a record of 12 times and never lost a title fight. He had 49 career bouts, won 45, drew 3, and lost only one fight. He made his pro debut in 1981, and five years later, he emerged the WBA and Lineal junior lightweight champion.
Later in 1991, Mitchell clinched the IBF junior lightweight title and retired from boxing that same year. He, however, made a comeback in 1994 and finally hung his gloves in the next year. As a result of South Africa’s apartheid policy during his active career, the former boxer was forced to defend his WBA and Lineal junior lightweight title abroad 12 times and thus, became a road warrior.
Based on the ranking of “the man who beat the man,” Brain Mitchell was rated the best junior lightweight boxer globally from 1986 to 1991. Later in 2009, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He was also awarded honorary Springbok colors in April 1989.
Conclusion
Though these boxers are considered by many as the greatest South African boxers based on their career accomplishments and records, many other pro boxers have made SA proud at one point in their careers. They include the likes of Jake Tuli, Enoch “School Boy” Nhlapo, and Mike Bernardo.
The ranking might be disputed by some people; nevertheless, these boxers on our list of 20 greatest South African boxers share one thing in common—they are pacesetters in SA’s boxing arena as they have set the standard right for younger generations, ensuring that the country is blossomed by glory days.
Recap of The 20 Greatest South African Boxers of All Time
- Brian Mitchell
- Vuyani Bungu
- Gerrie Coetzee
- Vic Toweel
- Willie Toweel
- Thulani Malinga
- Jacob Matlala
- Corrie Sanders
- Mzukisi Sikali
- Thabiso Mchunu
- Cassius Baloyi
- Kevin Lerena
- Zolani Tete
- Digaan Thobela
- Laurie Stevens
- Francois Botha
- Phillip Ndou
- Ludumo Lamati
- Virgil Kalakoda
- Mbulelo Botile
