Kutlo Motseta
6th June 2025
Botswana took the athletics world by storm becoming a dominant player in the 400m. Given its limited population and resources, its performances have been remarkable. This international success can be replicated in other sporting codes.
Athletics is an ideal sport for a third world country because it has very low entry barriers, the same applies to boxing. Similarly to athletics, beginners need a pair of shoes, t-shirt and pants.
However, it has lower genetic entry barriers than athletics because excellence does not primarily rest on genetic physical attributes.
The weakest and slowest kid or runner in the boxing club can be the clubs top boxing performer.
This is because a boxer can make up for what he lacks in athleticism through a boxing IQ. The phrase ‘practice makes perfect’ aptly applies, as it can turn an ‘unathletic’ snail pace runner into a boxing world champion.
Retired boxers Floyd Mayweather, Andre Ward and reigning female world champion Claressa Shields are all undefeated and are at the top end of the boxing ranks. As, Ward reflected, “It’s not about size, it’s a science. Shields said “Being a woman fighter, I can be 39; to just go out there and manhandle a girl, I need to be very strategic: Use my skills, head movement and defence ….”
A similar sentiment was echoed by Floyd Mayweather. He said, “I’m a boxer who believes that the object of the sport is to hit and not to get hit.” He also said “He can have heart, he can hit harder and he can be stronger, but there’s no fighter mentally smarter than me.”
Thus, it is less about one’s biological lottery gifts at birth but passion, commitment and willingness to study. In addition to its low financial entry barriers this makes boxing the easiest sport for a community or nation to excel at.
As discussed in the previous article titled “Botswana’s Rise in the 400m Sprint Events,” the nations sporting success was largely influenced by the cohesion between school teachers and the Botswana
Athletics Association and the inspirational performances by earlier athletes, in that order. Boxing can do the same if it attracts high school students to boxing clubs. This can be done through school outreach programs where boxing administrators lecture to high school students about the sport. Finding young sports enthusiasts who are want to try out new sports.
There is no age barrier in boxing, Oscar Hopkins was world middleweight champion at 51 years old. One of the best boxers of all time, former Philippian senator Manny Pacquiao, will come out of retirement aged 46 to challenge 30-year-old WBC world welterweight champion Mario Barios, for his title on the 19th July 2025 in Las Vegas, United States America.
Boxing in Botswana is in a better space than it was ten years ago, but it could be better. In 2021 Sadie Kenosi Became Botswana’s first female Olympian, whilst Rajab Mohammed qualified alongside her for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Local professional boxing is at its peak.
Local professional tournaments have the look and feel of international professional boxing tournaments, which bodes well for the sport. But more can be done at grassroots level to attract more aspiring athletes to turn boxing into a culture as is the case with athletics.
Boxing requires less physical talent and similar financial resources to athletics, therefore it is easier to develop world class boxing athletes than it is to develop world class sprinters. There is no reason why Botswana cannot compete globally if it renews it efforts to develop talent at grassroots level.
Boxing is also not just a sport it’s a lifestyle. This can help to deal curb substance abuse amongst the youth, unemployment and grow Botswana’s presence on the world stage which can increase its global brand for the purposes of the tourism sector and the sale of diamonds.
