Nelson Mandela Bay’s No 1 female boxer, Nozipho Bell, has her boxing gloves polished and is itching to fight unbeaten Polish Ewa Brodnicka for the World Boxing Association female world super featherweight championship title on October 26, in Poland.
The three-time SA Junior Light Champion will make history in South African boxing as she will be the first female boxer to contest for the title in that country.
“Ntsimbi”(which means steel) as she is known in the boxing world, will be the third boxer from the Bay region to get an opportunity for a world title after Vuyani Nene and the late Mzukisi Sikali.
Despite many challenges she has faced in terms of looking for sponsorship and financial backing to fund her medical tests, some of which are still outstanding, the 29-year-old Walmer Township boxer has not let that dent her spirit.
When the Weekend Post spoke to Bell she was still looking for funding to pay for her brain scan which is required to be done two weeks before the fight.
The brain scan costs between R10,000 and R15,000.
Bell says she has left everything to her management to sort out.
“Our preparations are going very well. We are working hard because we see that the level is pretty high and things will not be the same.
“This will be my first international fight. We have more hours of travelling now than normally, so I have to be well prepared and also make sure that my weight is on track when I leave South Africa.
“The title is very important because I will be the first female in SA to contest for this title and secondly I will be coming from Port Elizabeth. So, I was very excited when this opportunity came.”
Bell successfully defended her SA junior Light Champion belt for the third time in a row last year when she beat Ryder Muleba in Limpopo.
She has only one defeat and a draw from the 10 fights she has fought so far. It was for this impressive run that she was awarded this opportunity.
“This has been my wish and my goal to fight internationally. It has also been my wish to make my country proud and bring in a world title. A big one like this, now this chance has come.
“I am looking forward to bringing it home.”
When asked to comment about her opponent Brodnicka, 34, a confident Bell said she was not shaken by her record.
“I have seen my opponent. I am also a champion so I will have to trust myself. I see that she is good at what she does but I will be able to handle her tactics,” she said.
“Another challenge I am faced with is the lack of support here at home because over there women’s boxing is supported. Also I can tell by viewing her video footages that she is well supported where she comes from.
“My wish is for me to get the similar support here at home. In terms of sponsors, how I dress and my diet as well because I have been doing this for years without a sponsor.
“I don’t have a specific diet or nutrition plan. I eat whatever I have at home and get up and go to the gym.”
Bell grew up in the dusty streets of Walmer Township playing soccer and has been a success at whatever she tried.
She played football for the provincial team and in 2006 was selected to join the SA under 17 team.
The sport fanatic then took a pause from sport and took up art. Her beautiful art work is splashed all over Walmer Township.
“I returned to sport but this time I played rugby for Bontle Tigers. There, I was also picked to join the EP sevens team but I felt like what I was doing was not fulfilling my soul.
“My body craved for more training so I joined boxing in 2011 and my spirit rejoiced.”
Bell’s mentor Caiphus Ntante said the boxer was the right melody for the fight.
But the only thing they needed to work on was stage fright.
“We also have to play our cards right because this girl we are up against is direct.
“We have seen video footage of fights.
“So, we will have to fight behind the defence but make sure that we walk away with the title,” Ntante said.
“Both boxers are at the peak of their careers right now, so this is going to be a difficult but entertaining fight. Already I am told that over 10,000 tickets have been sold for the fight.
“We have been working very hard and I promise that we will come back with this title to Walmer Township. We are good travellers.”
The team will leave for Poland on Saturday next week.