Top SA boxer Simangele Hadebe moves up in World Rankings

Hadebe fought against Tanzanian boxer Jesca Mfinanga, who struggled to make it to the end of the first round and was defeated by a knockout. 

Speaking to SABC Sport, ‘Smash’ as she is affectionately known says being eighth in the world is an honour, but she still wants to work harder to achieve more.

"We've gone up in the world rankings – this fight took me to number eight in the world, which we are happy about, but we can't just sit and be [content with] number eight," said Hadebe.

"Now what's left is that we have to put in more work than before to get to number seven, six, five, and all the way up to number two and one.

"So we can't just sit and do nothing, we rest for a little bit, and then we go back to the drawing board again."

Initially, Hadebe was supposed to fight Mexican boxer Gabriela Sanchez for the IBF Intercontinental at the end of May – a fight that was cancelled last minute due to Sanchez’s commitments, but she is excited to have successfully defended her ABU title.

"It did feel great to defend my ABU [belt] on Saturday afternoon, and it's not something I would let go just like that – any opponent willing to challenge for the ABU or SA title, they should know they have to be prepared for war," she stated.

READ: Boxing SA allocate R19 million budget for 2024/2025 fiscal