Linda Ximba
The newly crowned IBF All Africa and South African junior featherweight champion, Bongani “Wonderboy” Mahlangu, has made history by winning the title at the age of 42.
The Gauteng-based champ captured both titles, becoming the oldest to do so in the country.
But he doesn’t want it to end here. Mahlangu has vowed to keep boxing until the age of 50.
He ended the reign of Ayabonga Sonjica as the champion with a seventh round knockout at the packed Orient Theatre in East London at the weekend.
Mahlangu shared his secrets with Scrolla.Africa on how he continues to defy the odds.
“I have been boxing for 38 years from my amateur days up until I turned professional. My inspiration is Bernard Hopkins who fought until 50 years,” said the soft-spoken Mahlangu.
American-born Hopkins was a boxer from 1988 to 2016.
He is one of the most successful boxers of the past three decades, having held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the undisputed middleweight crown from 2001 to 2005 and the lineal junior heavyweight title from 2011 to 2012.
Mahlangu’s talent saw him make Team SA that went to the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece and the Commonwealth Games in 2006 in Melbourne, Australia.
He also went to the All Africa Games in 2003 in Nigeria.
For all the sweat inside the square ring, Mahlangu has managed to capture the WBA Pan African and Intercontinental bantamweight, SA, WBO International and IBF International junior featherweight titles.
He shared advice for aspiring youngsters who want to make a living through boxing.
“What I could say has prolonged my longevity in the game is because I live a clean life. I don’t drink alcohol and smoke because I have seen those habits ending many a boxer’s career,” said the champion, who proclaimed himself as a bachelor.
Mahlangu, who is a southpaw, boasts a record of 23 wins with 11 knockouts in 31 fights.
He is trained by his younger brother Sandile at his own Wonderboy Boxing Academy in the Vaal in Gauteng.
