GABORONE - Batswana women will soon be seen facing each other in boxing rings if the proposal by the Botswana Boxing Association (BoBA) sees the light of day.

The Vice President of BoBA (Administration) Mr Shakes Kebualemang said they are in the process of establishing womens boxing in the country and that though boxing was for all Botswana does not have women boxers like other countries.

Speaking at the launch of sponsorship of boxing materials to Diamond Trading Company Botswana (DTCB) Boxing Club by Setlalekgosi Investments in Gaborone last week, Mr Kebualemang said women in Botswana were only engaged in the administration of clubs, serving in association commissions while some were referee judges.

The sponsored materials included tracksuits and T-shirts worth over P5 000 for the clubs boxers, head coach and assistant, the team manager, and secretary general.

He said womens boxing was practiced in more than 120 countries and on five continents while estimated licensed womens boxers are around 500 000.Mr Kebualemang noted that AIBA, the International Boxing Association, accepted womens boxing into its programme in 1994 and the AIBA womens commission was put in place.

AIBA has joined women boxers around the world to support the inclusion of womens boxing in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The Vice President therefore, urged clubs affiliated to BoBA to recruit and train women boxers.

Mr Thebe Setlalekgosi of Setlalekgosi Investment said though boxing was slightly going down every year, the sport (boxing) was the only sport code that brought an international medal from the last Commonwealth Games. BOPA