Balfour Women in Boxing Tournament Hailed a Huge Success as Mpumalanga Hosts Thrilling Title Action
The Boxing South Africa (BSA) Women in Boxing Series event in Balfour was hailed as a major success after a full afternoon of action at the Paris Pub and Restaurant on Saturday.
Tournament supervisor and BSA Mpumalanga manager Oupa Lubisi credited the local community for turning out in numbers, while also thanking the event’s sponsors.
“The tournament went very well. It was a huge success,” Lubisi told SizaNazo365. “We would like to thank the people of Balfour and Dipaleseng Local Municipality for coming in numbers to support the event.”
The tournament was promoted by Rise Promotions in partnership with the Mpumalanga Department of Culture, Sports and Recreation, with support from Paris Pub and Restaurant and Dipaleseng Local Municipality.
Nkosi loses provincial title fight
The headline bout produced disappointment for local favourite Alima Nkosi, who was defeated by KwaZulu-Natal’s Nolwazi Myingwa in their eight-round middleweight contest.
Myingwa claimed the Mpumalanga provincial female middleweight title, ending Nkosi’s hopes of earning an opportunity to challenge South African champion Nobengazi Booth.
The home crowd did, however, celebrate victory earlier in the programme when Nosipho Nkosi defeated Limpopo’s Seani Morite by unanimous decision in a six-round featherweight bout.
Nosipho was subsequently penalised 20% of her purse after failing to make the featherweight limit. Lubisi explained that the division has a maximum weight of 57.15kg, while Nkosi weighed 58.50kg.
Balfour Women in Boxing Tournament Hailed a Huge Success as Mpumalanga Hosts Thrilling Title Action (Image: Boxing South Africa)
Godrich wins professional debut
One of the day’s other highlights was Larissa “Lethal” Godrich, who made a winning start to her professional career.
The Mpumalanga boxer defeated Gauteng’s Chantelle Joubert by unanimous decision in a four-round catchweight bout.
Elsewhere, Samkelo Mbambo of KwaZulu-Natal defeated Limpopo’s Millicent Nemutandani on points in a six-round junior lightweight contest.
The six-round flyweight clash between Gauteng fighters Lee-Ann Janse Van Vuuren and Keabetswe Mathane ended in a draw, while Gabisile Tshabalala defeated Eastern Cape’s Monalisa Takane by unanimous decision in an eight-round bantamweight bout.
The Balfour tournament formed part of BSA’s 2026/27 Women in Boxing Series, which is being staged across all nine provinces to provide female boxers with more regular competitive opportunities.
For Balfour, the event offered both a showcase for established fighters and a platform for emerging talent — with organisers hopeful that such tournaments can help develop the next generation of South African female champions.