Africa mourned the death of one of its leading boxing trainers, Nick Durandt, who produced an extraordinary 95 South African champions, in 17 weight divisions, and 38 world champions through the WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, WBF and IBO organizations.
The champions Durandt guided spanned generations; from Gerrie Coetzee, Brian Mitchell, Sugar Boy Malinga, Phillip Ndou, Cassius Baloyi, to Moruti Mthalane. Durandt took pride in turning ghetto boys, with few prospects, into world champs.
In April, the 53-year-old Durandt died in hospital in Bethlehem, in South Africa’s Free State province, after a motorbike accident. He was the president of Crusaders Bike Club at the time.
Durandt, who was recognizable by his blonde locks flowing out of a black beanie or bandana, was born on Boxing Day in 1963, in Wolverhampton, England. His South African father, Cliff Durandt, was a professional footballer, in South Africa and player for Wolverhampton Wanderers in England. Durandt, before he immersed himself in boxing, played football for the University of the Witwatersrand under-21s, coached by the late full-back Eddie Lewis.
“Many people talk about things larger than life, really to me Nick Durandt was larger than boxing. He produced so many champions that no one can compare [to him] in this country&#8230; He has done it all,” says Peter Leopeng, a boxing analyst and commentator.
The uncompromising Durandt was a tough negotiator who always put the best interests of his fighters first. Mthalane pulled out of the mandatory title defence against Thailand’s Amnat Ruenroeng and relinquished his IBF flyweight title after Durandt refused the R60,000 ($4,400) purse.  He later negotiated a R1–million ($75,000) sum in Durban.
<div id="attachment_31463" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31463" class="wp-image-31463 size-large" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/IMG_0488-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_0488.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_0488-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_0488-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_0488-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Farewell The Man Who Called Mayweather A Coward</div>
“Nick fought against any promoter who thought he could swindle his boxers out of the purse, that’s why he was unpopular. For a long time he didn’t get along with Rodney Berman for that same reason. He was passionate about making sure he got sponsorship and endorsement for his charges. All his boxers were dressed up in Kappa gear,” says Leopeng.
Durandt’s colorful lifestyle and relentless pursuit of improving life for his boxers made him popular outside the ring as well. Before his untimely death, he fought tirelessly with national broadcaster SABC to televise boxing. He was also a fervent critic of former sports minister, Fikile Mbalula, whom he accused of forsaking the dying sport. When Mbalula brought Floyd Mayweather to South Africa in 2012, in what they called ‘The Reawakening of the Giant’, to revive boxing, Durandt refused to endorse the project and likened it to a tour for Mayweather to view African animals and the picturesque Table Mountain.
When FORBES AFRICA interviewed Durandt in 2014, he pulled no punches.
“In order to build more and more superstars, the television coverage is very important. People need to see the fighters live when they fight. Can you imagine; I arrive at the OR Tambo International Airport with the world champion and the people don’t know or don’t recognize him,” he said.
Leopeng had his own embarrassing encounter with angry Durandt in 2003. A high-spirited Durandt flew his African champion Ndou to the US to fight Mayweather. Days before the fight in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Durandt referred to Mayweather as a coward and promised his fans a knockout.
“Mayweather retorted that he would fight like a crocodile, he would take Ndou to the deep waters and see if he can swim out of the river. Durandt said that Ndou could swim breaststroke and backstroke. Mayweather pulverized and knocked out Ndou in the seventh round. Now back in South Africa, in a radio interview, I asked Durandt which stroke Ndou was doing while lying on the ground. Durandt swore at me and never spoke to me for six months,” recalls Leopeng.
Another memorable fight – billed as ‘Thunder in Africa’ – was between unheralded American Hasim Rahman and England’s WBC, IBF and IBO heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis at Carnival City, in Brakpan, east of Johannesburg, in 2001. Durandt was in Rahman’s corner when he knocked out Lewis in round five.
Although well-known for his bad temper, controversial character and tattoos, Durandt was a family man who was inseparable from his sons. When he retired in May 2016, he handed over the two gyms to his first born Damian, 26, whom he groomed from the age of 14. He also owned a tattoo shop across the road from his gyms.
To go with the many awards Durandt won as a trainer and manager in almost three decades in boxing, in January he received a Lifetime Achievement award from Boxing South Africa.
Durandt, known as Mthakathi, Zulu for wizard, will go down in history as the first trainer to be red carded for insulting the referee in Nasrec, Johannesburg. Boxing is duller without him.

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It was meant to be a historic first for Africa and women’s professional boxing – it was a flop. On February 3 2007, Gwendolyn O’Neil of Guyana challenged Laila Ali, the daughter of legendary professional boxer Muhammad Ali, for a WBC super-middleweight world title at Emperors Palace, in Johannesburg. To the chagrin of 2,800 spectators, who paid at least $50 a head, with the late Nelson Mandela ringside, Ali pulverized O’Neil in the first round to win with a knockout. The then 30-year-old Ali earned a $522,000 purse and quit the sport.
Many boxing enthusiasts saw the fight as a breakthrough for struggling professional female boxing in South Africa, which started in 2001. But Rodney Berman, the man who put it together, had other thoughts. Berman, the leading promoter in Africa, wanted to fulfil Ali’s wish for his daughter to fight on the continent, like he did in Kinshasa in 1974 in the famous ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ with George Foreman. But this was the first and the last female bout under Berman’s Golden Gloves Promotions.
“I won’t do it again; I don’t want to think about seeing two women in the ring bleeding. For me it’s not a sport for women, it is something I think is unfeminine. In my opinion women shouldn’t be boxing. It doesn’t interest me. I can’t watch women taking punishment. They have been trying to encourage it in South Africa but I don’t know why? Laila Ali was different; she was accepted worldwide as something special. She was the only one I was interested in because of her family pedigree,” says Berman.
Top trainer Nick Durandt, of Durandt’s Boxing World, is also not keen on female boxing. Durandt, who trained one woman boxer, says women’s boxing doesn’t make business sense and there’s no big money in it. In 30 years as a trainer, Durandt guided 38 world champions and 97 South African champions.
Eight years after Ali’s bout, South Africa has not even come close to staging another high profile women’s bout.
“It’s not only a South Africa problem, but worldwide. Have you seen a female bout headline a big event?” asks Durandt.
“In general, boxing is in a bad state in South Africa, so women’s boxing is even worse. The unfortunate passing of Phindile Mwelase didn’t do them any favors. If the tragedy of that nature happens early in the existence of sport, many people will surely keep away from it. Women’s boxing is almost non-existent to be honest. Nick Durant would know better,” says Peter Leopeng, a senior boxing analyst.
It is not merely an African story. Female boxers in the United States are migrating in droves to Mexico where the sport is lucrative and growing. New York-based Alicia Ashley was one of the Americans to take her chances in Mexico. In September, Ashley lost her WBC super bantamweight title to the Mexican Jackie Nava. She is still boxing at the age of 48.
In Africa there is a dearth of fights and sponsorship. Many women have quit the sport but those who remain earn peanuts. According to Boxing South Africa, there are fewer than 40 licensed women boxers in the country, with a majority coming from the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Gauteng. Few of these boxers have challenged for world titles – none have won. The names are little known: Sandra Almeida, the country’s first professional boxer; Noni Tenge; Julie Tshabalala; Gabisile Tshabalala and Unathi Myekeni.
It is a dangerous game of risk in the ring. Mwelase, a fairly inexperienced boxer with five professional fights, was knocked unconscious in the sixth of eight rounds in October last year in Pretoria. She died at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital after two weeks in a coma – the first African female boxer to die. The 31-year-old was fighting for $400.
Kenyan Conjestina Achieng was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, Mathare Mental Hospital, but couldn’t pay the bill. The government had to intervene. She was a former middleweight champion and the first Kenyan to fight internationally. In 2004, Achieng beat Uganda’s Fiona Tugume for the vacant WIBF middleweight world title. She would go on to win four world titles under different categories, registering 17 wins and four draws, earning the nickname Hands of Stone.
Despite these difficulties, women’s boxing is not dead, merely struggling.
Stanley Ndlovu, owner of Sir Stan’s Athletics, is a struggling trainer who has not given up on female boxers. Ndlovu became a trainer in the 1970s to keep youth off the streets of Soweto. He trains three professional female boxers in his stable. Among several male champions, Ndlovu guided his own son, Takalani, to the junior IBF featherweight title.
“While there were riots in 1976, we were busy training the youngsters in our gyms. After the hard practise, we sent them home to protect them from the brutality of police in the streets. We saved them from crossfire. The passion I had for boxing from those days I still have this day. Boxing is the same as any other institution. If you are not disciplined, you will face the consequences alone. But I don’t tolerate that with my boxers,” says Ndlovu. Sir Stan’s Athletics is hidden in the heart of a tourist trap in the Maboneng Precinct, in Johannesburg.  Every weekday, Ndlovu nurtures the talent of his students. The late and unfortunate Mwelase turned professional in 2012 under his eye. All Ndlovu’s female students hail from rural areas and are unemployed. They all hope boxing will one day change their lives for the better.
“The mentality of promoters towards lady boxers must change, we won’t despair. Look at the [South African women’s football team], Banyana Banyana, today. No one gave them a chance of making it when they started. Here, I will produce Commonwealth champions,” says Ndlovu.
Still they come, female and proud with gloves on. It is a Friday morning in the gym at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg, three young women are punching bags like they hate them. One of them is Cebile Mlotsa, who weighs less than 50 kilograms and has a quick jab.
“I don’t really pay attention to money, but I just want to turn professional and follow my passion. Just because there are two men who decided that it’s not going to work, it doesn’t mean that women should stop boxing. I started with a coach that told me you are getting there. There was no discrimination that I am a girl, they will help you. They were all very supportive,” says Mlotsa, an amateur boxer and engineering graduate.
In 2013, Mlotsa joined the Wits boxing gym because she saw people running around campus looking fit and followed them. After a few days in the gym, she was introduced to boxing. Mlotsa has only two fights in two years.
“I liked the intensity involved in it. You have to prepare and it takes a lot out of you. There are no girls or boys in our gym, we run with the boys, we are sparring with the boys, everyone is a boxer. My mother raised concerns about violence in boxing, but I told her Mandela was a boxer too,” she chuckles.
Hedda Wolmarans is a young promising boxer and sports management student who is turning professional this year. She is unfazed by the penury of the sport she took up in 2012 just to keep fit. Wolmarans is currently the Gauteng amateur champion in the under 69 kilogram division. She fought 13 times under different trainers around Johannesburg but late last year joined reputable trainer Colin Nathan.
“I have what it takes to be a professional. Colin Nathan has warned me it is not going to be easy to get fights because Rodney Berman is not interested in female boxers. It’s going to be hard but that’s a risk I am willing to take. I am not driven by money, I just want to fight and get a South African title. Look at other male South Africa boxers, they still keep their jobs. I fell in love with the sport, it is very difficult, yet addictive. You have to constantly push yourself,” says Wolmarans.  And constantly push the boundaries of the sport for women.

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Women Should Not  Be Boxing?

Nick Durandt had humble beginnings and is now one of the top boxing trainers in Africa. His track record of producing a long list of world champions has earned him respect in the boxing fraternity and he is the most accomplished trainer in South Africa.
Durandt was born in Wolverhampton, England on Boxing Day and strongly believes that he was destined to be involved in the sport.
His family is traditionally athletic and while young, Durandt played football for the junior side of South Africa’s professional club, Wits University.  Now, he is determined to contribute to South African sport by training a long line of boxing champions.
“Boxing is my passion. I enjoy every moment of my time training my fighters in the gym. Every morning, whenever I wake up, I feel highly motivated to go to work because I really like what I am doing as a trainer and manager of fighters,” says Durandt.
Durandt’s father, Cliff, played for Wolverhampton Wanderers and Charlton Athletic before returning to his country of birth, South Africa. He was at Wolverhampton when the club won its last FA Cup and first division league title.
<div id="attachment_2928" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2928" class="size-medium wp-image-2928" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/0000101682-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" />JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA &#8211; 20 November 2009: Michael Schultz with coach Nick Durandt during his fight with Tineyi Maridzo from Zimbabwe at the Wembley Arena, Johannesburg. Schultz is rumoured to be the alleged hitman in the Brett Kebble murder case. Surprisingly, Schultz was knocked out by Maridzo in the first round. (Photo by Gallo Images/Foto24/Herman Verwey)</div>
“When I came to South Africa from England I was very young. My father played professionally in England and he made a huge impact as a player, he was a great soccer player. Top soccer administrators in South Africa, like Irvin Khoza, Kaizer Motaung and Jomo Sono, know my father very well. He was instrumental in the move of both Lucas Radebe and Phil Masinga when they left South Africa to play in England for Leeds United.”
“At Wits I played for the under-21s. It was during the time Eddie Lewis was still coaching and I did sit on the bench for the first team on three occasions. Anyway, I felt that boxing was my greatest passion that is why, even now, I am still involved in boxing,” he says.
Durandt has guided boxers such as Phillip Ndou, Hawk Makepula, Silence Mabuza and Cassius Baloyi from unknown fighters to superstars. He is proud when his fighters improve in the ring and their bank balances start to swell.
“I have had so many great moments with my different world champions. It is very important for fighters to look after their finances well so that even when their fighting career is over they can still live a good life.”
Moruti Mthalane, one of the best boxers in Durandt’s stable, reveals that the trainer is doing a fantastic job advising him how to invest his money wisely. Mthalane pulled out of a mandatory title defence against Thailand’s Amnat Ruenroeng and relinquished the International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight title in the process. He was offered R60,000 ($5,800) for the fight, which Durandt labeled a disgrace. Mthalane will instead trade blows in a fight in Durban for a guaranteed R1 million ($97,000).
“I have worked with Nick for a very long time now. He is a hard worker and I am really inspired by him. He encourages me to do what is right in the gym. He has been guiding me well financially. I feel I have a bright future, even when my boxing career comes to an end, because I have made some good investments,” says Mthalane.
Durandt feels that boxing should get as much television coverage as other prominent sports in South Africa. This will give aspiring boxers some role models to look up to.
“In order to build more and more superstars, the television coverage is very important. People need to see the fighters live when they fight. Can you imagine; I arrive at the OR Tambo International Airport with the world champion and the people don’t know him or don’t recognize him.”
“When Floyd Mayweather is fighting, the whole world watches him and that is good for the sport. We have talented boxers in South Africa so it is very important for them to get the necessary exposure on television so that people know who they are,” he says.
Durandt says one of his proudest moments was meeting the late former South African president Nelson Mandela. His gym is decorated with pictures of himself and Madiba. Mandela was a keen boxer and Durandt feels that great man’s legacy in boxing will inspire a lot of fighters.
“Nelson Mandela is the most important person I have ever met in my life. It was such an honor for me to meet him. The first time I met with Madiba I spent about four hours with him in his home in Houghton. We had lunch with him and after that we spoke about all types of things in life. He was a very special person. I remember on one other occasion I took my son to meet him and he paid special attention to him.”
Durandt is also a dedicated businessman. He owns two gyms in Melrose Arch and Norwood in Johannesburg. He also owns a tattoo shop.
“Boxing is my life but the tattoo parlor is my hobby.”
His entrepreneurial spirit started at the age of 14 when he owned a video shop in Johannesburg. At one stage he owned 10 clothing stores in the Johannesburg CBD and later sold them at a healthy profit to concentrate more on his boxing interests.
“I am a businessman and I always do my best to have a good balance of my business life and family life. The fact that I still have all my jewellery with me, I have not sold any, is an indication that I am doing well in business,” he says.
“My style of running the business is to get actively involved in it. I need to be hands on and know exactly what is going on. I am very committed to my businesses. I opened a tattoo shop just across the road from my other gym in Norwood because is closer. I identify the opportunity in the business that I have passion for.”
Durandt’s success has attracted sponsors from sportswear brand Kappa and betting company Supabets.
“In business I partner with people that I feel are at my standard or the same level. Kappa, for instance, are a powerful sporting brand. Look how well they are doing in Italy. I am aware that they are also sponsoring other soccer teams in the Premier Soccer League. As for Supa Bets, they are the best in Africa. They are the number one brand in the continent in their industry so it is very good for my business to associate with them. The most important thing is that I have a very good relationship with my partners. I can phone them anytime and they provide me with all I need from them.”
Durandt is a fighter by heart. Whether in business or at ringside, he will never pull any punches.

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