SKY’S THE LIMIT: Newly crowned EC champion Kuhle ‘Chiquita’ Futha proudly wears his gold medal after the Youth Day fight in Maletswai. Flanking him are coach Siyabulela ‘The General’ Veto (white shirt), and mentor and founder of the Maliboxing Studio in Bathurst, Malibongwe Tokwe.Pcture: SUPPLIED
“If I fight well, people will stop talking about my past: all that will matter is who I am now.” That was what newly crowned Eastern Cape junior featherweight (54kg) elite champion Kuhle ‘Chiquita’ Futha told his mentor Malibongwe Tokwe minutes before he stepped into the ring on Monday. Kuhle won the final and a gold medal in the Eastern Cape Amateur Boginng Organisation (Ecabo) Youth and Elite men’s and women’s championship. The event was held in Maletswai (formerly Aliwal North) on 13-16 June 2025.
Early on Tuesday morning, back in Makhanda for a team debrief and unwind, asking Kuhle how he felt about his Youth Day victory was superfluous: his smile was broad and unstoppable.
“I fought the undefeated Eastern Cape and South African champion,” he said. “Winning that fight felt really good.”
Later on Tuesday, Kuhle went home to Bathurst to a hero’s welcome.
In the Maliboxing Studio, the gym in Nolukhanyo where he trains, Kuhle is club captain. He’s a role model for dozens of local boys and girls.
“I think just the fact that I come from the same place as them… I hope that my win will inspire them to focus on moving forwards,” Kuhle said.
The 17-year-old is at the boxing gym every day from 4pm to 7pm, training under the guidance of coach Siyabulela ‘The General’ Veto and all-round mentor Malibongwe Tokwe. Stepping up to complete the circle of support is Lundi Dyani.
Dyani’s background is in soccer – both as player and coach. Here at Maliboxing, he is in charge of the children’s well-being, getting their parents engaged and the community in general more involved.
“To see lives being transformed and realigned through the discipline and sense of belonging is an inspiration,” said Dyani, adding that the influence children had on each other made even more of a difference than that of their adult mentors.
“Kuhle’s win was a win for this community. He’s here to show our kids that everything is possible with the right attitude and the right people around you,” said Dyani.
“He’s come a long way in a short time,” said Coach Veto.
With a fitness base developed in soccer, Kuhle started training at the Bathurst gym just over one year ago.
“He listens well, he’s got good respect for others, he’s very disciplined and he’s a good leader,” said Veto.
Kuhle put his fist to his chest as he spoke of a troubled past before moving in with family in Bathurst. Boxing was something the teenager had always enjoyed watching on TV and when he heard about the boxing studio in Nolukhanyo, he didn’t hesitate. There, Kuhle found role models and the kind of mentorship he’d been searching for.
About a year later, on Saturday May 31, he travelled to Makhanda with his club. There, 33 boxers were selected for the Sarah Baartman District team in a selection tournament. The Ecabo Youth and Elite men and women championship was in Maletswai on 13-16 June 2025, where the Sarah Baartman squad fought 210 boxers from Alfred Nzo, Amathole, Buffalo City Metro, Chris Hani, Joe Gqabi and OR Tambo district municipalities and NMB metro. Next up for Kuhle, in two weeks, is a training camp in Limpopo with other members of the Eastern Cape boxing team, and the teams selected from other provinces.
There, a team will be selected to represent South Africa.
“It’s a full programme with coaches and sport psychologists preparing them for the national spotlight,” said Tokwe.
Tokwe is a successful entrepreneur who entered the corporate world on the back of a stellar academic career.
“But making a real difference in my community and doing it through my passion, boxing, speaks to my heart.”
Tokwe puts his fist to his chest when he recalls what Kuhle said when he asked him what getting a gold medal would mean to him. “Kuhle told me: ‘When I get that gold medal, no one will talk about my past: only who I am now.”
This article was first published in Talk of the Town, June 19, 2025. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.
