Forty bouts took place in the senior categories during the Musangwe tournament held at Nzhelele Dzata the past weekend. Several non-title fights were seen before the start of the championship fights on Sunday.

In the senior category, Osborn Ramatsitsi from Nzhelele and Phindu Ndou were the first to enter the ring. The referee was forced to stop the fight in a bid to save Ramatsitsi’s life. Ramatsitsi’s nose was bleeding profusely when the fight was stopped. Thereafter, Zwothe Mammba convincingly beat Makhala Tshifularo, who did not hesitate to raise his hand as a way to accept defeat.

The next fight was between Kofhela Ndwambi and Ntendeni Makuya. Ndwambi was declared the winner, after it was realised that Makuya was applying dirty tricks. The champion, Steven “Time bomb” Nditwani, was crowned after he beat his opponent, Ruben Mudzanani. The most entertaining fight was between Sithaba Ndou and Fhumulani Manavhela. Ndou was declared the winner after Fhumulani started to employ time-wasting tactics.

Thovhele Vho-Toni Mphephu Ramabulana stated that the royal council was committed to preserving the Venda culture and they felt bound to lend a helping hand to Musangwe as it forms part of the Venda culture. He praised the organizers for bringing back the forgotten cultural sport. He said that the age-old sport of bare-fist fighting, popularly known as musangwe in Venda, had been used to gauge the bravery of young men and to prepare them for challenges ahead of them in life.

No material rewards were expected during the fights. With the change of times, this old tradition has shifted focus, with many of the participants expecting some form of compensation during the fights. This was started a few years ago, when people who saw a business opportunity in the fights sponsored the tournaments. Some hard-core traditionalists were very much against the idea, saying it was against tradition.

"Most of our fighters have the potential to make it in boxing and we are encouraging them to follow boxing and not end up only as unpaid fighters. There is a lot of money in boxing. We are hopeful that we will soon produce a world champion from this area,” said the president of the Vhembe Traditional Entertainment Organisation, Patrick Ramarada.