Cape Town - A Cape Argus team was interviewing a top boxing trainer at a Sea Point gym on Monday when police burst in and arrested him for possession of drugs including cocaine, dagga and cat with a street value of more than R20 000.
Cape Argus photographer David Ritchie and I had gone to talk to the current world straw-weight champion Luyanda “Little Master” Kwakwa when police burst in and told everyone to put up their hands.
I was standing beside the boxing ring watching Kwakwa pose with his world and Pan-African championship belts when policemen arrived and demanded to speak to the owner.
Ritchie put down his cameras and raised his hands, as did I.
Police searched the premises and even patted me down. The thought of something being found in the gym seemed unlikely.
What were the odds that on the day that this small Sea Point gym was being featured for a Cape Argus article, policemen would raid the place and uncover a major crime?
Then the head of the undercover unit announced that a parcel of cocaine had been found on the premises and that the trainer had been arrested.
I saw him handcuffed with a look of disbelief on his face.
Ten minutes prior to the raid I had just learnt that he had previously trained former lightweight world champion Mzonke Fana and I was listening to him speak about how disappointed he was at the lack of discipline among young boxers.
“These youngsters now just want the fame and fortune that comes from being champions, but they are not willing to put in the hard work. Being a boxer is hard work, you need to be fit. You can’t go sit in a nightclub till late hours, drinking and smoking. You need to have discipline,” he said.
After hearing how passionately he spoke about the sport, I felt a surge of respect for the effort he had put into the sport.
“These guys need sponsors to succeed. I try and get people to sponsor us but the issue comes in where you must find people who truly love boxing. Right now I bring most of the fighters to the gym and I pay out of my own pocket. I have money in other things which help me out… ”
I was wondering what he meant by “other things” when the police arrived.
Police later confirmed that a cocaine-like drug known as cat and dagga with a street value of R20 000 was allegedly found at the trainer’s residence and that a woman who works at the gym had also been arrested.
Cape Argus