Sibulele 'Lova' Soboois in action against Zizo Skoti.
Image: Buntu Gotywa
This Saturday, February 28, Sibulele Soboois has a chance to stump her authority in female boxing.
The Khayelitsha pugilist steps into the ring in Pretoria to face a seasoned campaigner Simangele Hadebe for the WBO All Africa flyweight title.
It will be Soboois’ fifth professional bout, a sharp contrast to Hadebe’s 21 fights and 15 victories. It will also be Soboois’ first scheduled eight-rounder.
But if the occasion feels bigger on paper, Soboois isn’t carrying that weight.
“All I can say is I am very positive and ready for this fight, my camp was awesome,” she said.
Preparation has not been left to chance. In camp she shared rounds with some of Cape Town’s proven female boxers, including Simangele Tusheni, Saarah Kariem and Anita Poni, rounds that sharpened her tools and reinforced her belief that the new generation is ready.
“I feel like now it’s time for the new young generation to take over. Smash did her part in boxing and now she should let me further it and bring the world title here,” she said.
Sibulele Soboois raises her hands after winning her last bout against Zizo Skoti.
Image: Buntu Gotywa
Soboois enters the bout unbeaten in her four professional fights, but her confidence is rooted deeper than that.
Before turning pro, she built a formidable amateur résumé, a five-time national gold medallist with more than 100 amateur fights.
“I’m not actually fazed,” she said of the experience gap.
“I respect her because she was a world title contender and has faced tougher fights. I guess it’s going to be youth versus experience.”
That calm outlook reflects a fighter who understands the road she is walking.
Cape Town has already produced women who have carried national and continental belts, with Tusheni and Ntombokuqala Tolashe blazing the trail. Soboois now wants to add her name to that growing list and continue putting Cape Town boxing on the continental map.
Her ring nickname, “Lova”, carries its own kasi flavour. The name given to her by her amateur coach, Sipho Sitwayi, who noticed her flexibility and slick movement in the ring.
“From the hood I grew with wide exposure of kasi life, I have that tsotsi style of carrying myself,” she jokingly said.