Bongani Mwelase

Bongani Mwelase (born 23 August 1982) is a South African former boxer who became the 2006 Commonwealth amateur champion at welterweight.

Bongani Mwelase

Personal information
Born	(1982-08-23) 23 August 1982
Sport
Sport	Boxing
Weight class	Welterweight
Medal record Men's boxing Representing South Africa Commonwealth Games 2006 Melbourne Welterweight

Amateur

The hard-punching southpaw failed to qualify for the 2004 Athens Games by ending up in third place at the 2nd AIBA African 2004 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Gaborone, Botswana. He won the Commonwealth boxing championships in Glasgow 2005 and the Commonwealth Games 2006. In the final 2006 he beat Vijender Singh who received a standing 8 count 33–26. He is South Africa's first black Commonwealth boxing champion.

Pro

He won his first 14 bouts and scored 12 KOs, but he then dropped decisions to Lovemore N'dou and Chris van Heerden in back-to-back fights.

He retired from boxing in 2011, citing exploitation and racism by promotors who mistreated black boxers. He finished his career with a record of 14–2.

External links

• Commonwealth 2006
• Boxing record for Bongani Mwelase from BoxRec (registration required)