The South African born boxer, Lovemore "Black Panther" Ndou, now based in Australia, says he is concerned about the state of boxing in this country.

In an exclusive interview with Mirror this week, Ndou said he was concerned that black boxers are still being marginalized by white promoters, "who want to look after the interests of their white counterparts". Ndou was speaking to Mirror during his short visit to the country this week, when he came to bury his younger sister, Patience, who had passed away last week Wednesday.

Ndou had never been in the country since he left in 1996, when he relocated to Australia with his South African wife, Florence, to further his boxing career there. He said he decided to leave after he had realised that there was no good future for him in the country as a black boxer. "Black boxers are not well looked after here. We have good boxers here, but as blacks, they are not well looked after. Promoters are so white in such a way that they will always look after their white fellows. This is the reason why I left."

He added that "if we can get good black promoters, we can succeed. But that is politics. You can change the constitution, but you can't change the people," said Ndou.

Ndou left the country with a record of eleven fights, nine wins, one draw and one loss. His draw was against Mthombeni Mhlophe, when they were fighting for the South African junior lightweight title.

The loss was a majority decision whe he was fighting against Jerry Malinga, whom he later stopped in the fourth round in a rematch. Ndou, who now has a record of 45 fights (three losses, one draw, with 27 Kos), is the IBF Pan Pacific champion in the super middleweight division. He won his championship after he stopped a Thailand boxer in the fourth round last year November.

Ndou says he has settled well in his new home, Sydney, Australia where he is staying with his wife Florence and three children, Maxine (5), Marion (2) and Lovemore Junior, who is four months old.

He said he makes good money, which allows him own two houses and two hair saloons. He also has a degree in Communications. Right now, he is studying for a combined degree in Media Arts and Law, through the University of Western Sydney.

Ndou, who is promoted by the American company, Tuto Promotions, said he was enjoying himself in Australia in such a way that he does not regret leaving this country. However, he said, he is still a South African and will always be a South African. He said he was also happy about the support he is getting from South Africa, even though he is not here.

The last time he was in the ring was last week Friday, when he was fighting against Carlos Alberto Leiva, whom he knocked out in the seventh round. He said he had nearly cancelled the fight four days before it was to take place, after he had received a call from his sister, Patience, then 24. "My sister phoned me on Monday and told me she was very sick. I told her I wanted to cancel the fight and come back home, but she told me not to."

He also praised his former manager and promoter, Mukangangalo Madzivhandila, who groomed him from amateur to professional level. "Madzivhandila did everything in his power to get me into training, connecting me with coaches and taking me into tournaments. This old man treated me like his own son. In fact, he did a lot for South African boxing and he deserves to be honored."