The Simon Van Der Stel Primary School Hall was a fitting location for the very first Rising Stars event. It served as a place of learning, courage, and wisdom for the future of African combat sports.
On Saturday, in Wynberg, more than 40 athletes from across the Western Cape, some from as far as Barrydale and Hermanus, descended upon this schooling institution to participate in a groundbreaking event that will benefit the kickboxing and boxing communities in the southern suburbs of Cape Town.
Rising Stars Fight Promotion, which is a collaboration between Fighterz Inc. MMA and Wellness Academy, Vibrant Sport, and Punchline Media, was created to offer more opportunities to aspiring fighters in and around the Southern Suburbs of the Mother City as more than half of the events in the region currently require athletes to travel either to the City center or beyond, making it inaccessible or awkward for some to attend.
This past weekend’s debut show provided grassroots and amateur kickboxers and boxers a platform to hone their skills, improve where needed, build their fight careers, and do what is most important, enjoy the sport they love.
Main event
The main event of the night was a ladies' boxing title fight between defending Vibrant Sport champion Asanele Mnxali (African Youth boxing) and Fighterz Inc.’s Aayesha Majiet.
After a hard-fought three-round war, it was Mnxali who successfully defended her throne in the 56kg division via unanimous decision.
Mnxali showed more composure, great footwork and better timing than her opponent who seemed to want to push the pace and overwhelm the champion with a flurry of overhand rights followed by quick lefts, which could have done damage had the majority of them landed.
Majiet’s cardio was impressive on the night, but the exciting and upcoming star - who got the crowd on their feet at the glamourous Fight Island Boxing event at Cabo Beach Club late last year in her fight with Lisolethu Majalisa - left herself open to lots of damage due to not keeping her hands up more when engaging her opponent at close range.
Mnxali’s counter-punching proved effective, delivering good right and left shots, also mixing up jabs in between.
Later in the fight, Majiet started getting back to the basics of boxing which always proves to be a winner, using head movement, slipping and feinting at times, minimizing the damage, but soon returned to default mode, rushing in with her punches, taking damage in the process.
Both these ladies have so much potential and can make a big mark on the South African scene as they draw big crowds, and have a large support base judging by the thunderous roars reverberating throughout the Simon Van Der Stel School hall.
The kickboxing main event easily should be a contender for Kickboxing Fight of the Month across the nation as current champion, Sikho Siratza and Jiyaad Diedericks put on an absolute banger and a bout fitting of a main event.
All in the ring
From the first bell these two young athletes, throwing down in the 60kg division, got fans on their feet and testing their vocal cords as support from Phillipi, Kuilsriver, Athlone, Ottery, Khayelitsha, Lansdowne, and Parow cheered these warriors on as they left it all inside the ring.
Siratza proved to be the more patient, calculating and reading his opponent’s movements, while Diedericks was hungry to do damage from the get-go. Siratza offered good counters to Diedericks’ kicks and combos, as the first round progressed, Diedericks started finding his rhythm and entertained the crowd with not only exciting taekwondo-like attacks but also beautiful hand defense, keeping up his guard.
Diedericks showed scintillating form with his kicks, and footwork, while the charismatic Siratza utilized his boxing before unleashing some kicks and knees of his own, which proved to be the telling dynamic in the fight.
In round two, as the cheers rang down from the gallery and the stage where the two fan bases were split, Siratza started implementing more knees in close range trying to neutralize the dangerous Diedericks who showed incredible heart, skill, and cardio.
Close to the end of the round, Siratza then landed a vicious knee to the lower left of the solar plexus areas, what looked like the stomach region, which sent Diedericks to the canvas and eventually leading to the end of the fight with the result reading as a TKO (knee to the body).
The moment was too much for the Junxion Kickboxing fan base as they stormed the ring in excitement and joy to embrace their champion. The resident DJ did well to read his cue at that point and started pumping the celebratory music which brought out Siratza’s other talent, dancing, as the young man - who seemed to have Q20 sprayed on his joints judging by his silky dance moves - lapped up the moment.
Another beautiful memory from the day was the fight between juniors Zidaan Jacobs from Go for Broke and Yakeen Khan from Fighterz Inc. These two primary school learners showcased heart and sportsmanship, a testament to their respective gyms and support structures at home. They even had a funky handshake which highlighted the value and importance of shows like Rising Stars, a platform to encourage, build, and empower all the combat sports stars of Cape Town and its surrounding areas.
Full results from Rising Stars 1
Kickboxing: Sikho Siratza Junxion Kickboxing beat Jiyaad Diedericks Fighter Inc via TKO (knee to the body) in the second round. (60kg)
CO-MAIN: Tyla Scholtz Vibrant Sport beat Saidi Walburgh Go for Broke via unanimous decision. - (60kg)
Yandisa Ngqwarhu Junxion Kickboxing beat Alexander Syster Barrydale Fight Club via RCS (referee stoppage) (57kg)
Lisolethu Majalisa Junxion Kickboxing beat Aqeelah Salie Fighterz Inc via unanimous decision. (54kg)
Avuyile Mazomba Junxion Kickboxing beat Uzair Hoosain Fighterz Inc (57kg) via unanimous decision.
Guthaifa Abrahams Mitchells Plain KB beat Abbas Moerat Go for Broke by unanimous decision (63.50kg)
Mohammad Achmat Fighterz Inc VS Carmel Parentzee Barrydale Fight Club (60kg)
Ishmail Boole Fighterz Inc beat Mivuyo Adonis Juunxion Boxing (54kg) via unanimous decision.
Zidaan Jacobs Go for Broke beat Yakeen Khan Fighterz Inc via split decision.
Boxing Title Fight: Defending Vibrant Boxing Champion Asanele Mnxali African Youth boxing beat Aayesha Majiet Fighterz Inc via unanimous decision. - (56kg)
CO-MAIN: Justin Campher Strictly Fighters beat Waseem SMith Fighterz Inc via unanimous decision. - (69kg)
Evans Musimwa beat Zack Lewis Phenom Boxing by unanimous decision. - 69kg
Toufeeq van Schalkwyk Fighterz Inc and Mika-Eel Petersen Performance Institute competed in an exhibition fight. - 71kg
Caleb Fabe Vibrant Sport beat Joshua Overberg Go for Broke via split decision. - 69kg
Siyanda Maboza Junxion Boxing beat Ghakeem Samuels Fighterz Inc via unanimous decision. - 63kg
Lime Masiza African Youth Boxing beat Arzu Joseph Fighterz Inc via TKO. - 60kg
Luke Herring Performance Institute and Christopher Combrink Strictly Fighters competed in an exhibition fight. - 81kg
Uzair Hoosain beat Balyn Brandt via split decision.
Anoyolo Gwija Junxion Boxing beat Zain Nortje Fighterz Inc via . 51kg
Samir Bhatti Fighterz could not make the fight, thus Balyn Brandt Mitchells Plain KB gets the win. - 57kg
David Williams Trouble Makers beat Asemahle Mabuse Junxion Boxing via unanimous decision. - 60kg
Gabriel Schlosberg Performance Institute competed against Ethan Overberg Go For Broke in an exhibition fight. - 68kg
Shane Langa Strictly Fighters beat Anoxolo Nyokana Junxion Boxing via unanimous decision. - 60kg
Zaahir Abrahams Fighterz Inc beat Alwin Domingo Junxion Boxing via unanimous decision. (60kg)