SA’s oldest boxer, 47, not about to retire soon
Fit Mahlangu says he still has fire in his tank
SA’s oldest active professional boxer, Bongani “Wonderboy” Mahlangu, turns 47 on July 10, but retirement from the fistic sport is not in his plans.
“I still run 21km every morning with ease,” he said yesterday.
“There is still fire in the tank. My target is 50 years.”
“I still want to reclaim the SA junior-featherweight title I lost to Siyabulela Hem in 2024.”
Mahlangu won that belt at 42 from Ayabonga “Jay Jay” Sonjica in 2022.
“I’ve never had weight issues when preparing for a fight since I began fighting professionally due to my discipline and clean living.”
Mahlangu and his younger brother and boxing manager, Sandile Mahlangu, hone the skills of amateurs at their Wonderboy Boxing Gym in Boipatong.
“I don’t just train fighters, but I train with them so that we share the same pain,” said the former SA, WBO and IBF International and ABU junior-featherweight champion who has boxed more than 300 rounds in 38 professional fights.
Mahlangu, who represented SA in the 2003 All Africa Games in Nigeria, the 2004 Olympics in Athens and the Commonwealth Games in 2006 in Melbourne, plays football in the amateur ranks.
“That is where I check my fitness level,” he said, adding he plays for Boipatong Masters (Sundays) and also Nampark Football Club (Saturdays).
Asked where he draws his strength from, he said: “My lifestyle has been my biggest asset; I don’t smoke cigarettes, I don’t drink alcohol, I don’t take energy boosters and I come as I am.”
A devoted Rastafarian, Mahlangu said he does not smoke dagga.
His firstborn son, 22-year-old Bhekizizwe “Dr Sleep” Maitse, is also a professional boxer.
Maitse represented SA in the inaugural WBC Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia last year and the ABU SADC champion lost in the semifinals.
Said Mahlangu: “I urge young boys to stop being copycats, get their priorities right and live a clean life.
“This is how I am raising Bhekizizwe because this is how our father [former pro boxer Joshua Mahlangu] raised us,” said Mahlangu, who has 26 wins and 12 losses.