After years of battling to make the junior lightweight weight division, Gqeberha female boxer Nozipho Bell has decided to finally throw in the towel and jump up two divisions to campaign in the junior welterweight division.
Bell, who was a shadow of her former self when she surrendered the title to Berniece Ferreira in a bout mired in a doping controversy in Pretoria in November, will begin life in the new division under former trainer Lonki Witbooi after they reunited for her WBF Africa title quest against Malawian-born Zimbabwean Chiedza Homakoma at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on May 30.
Organised by Mbali Zantsi’s Showtime Promotions, the tournament, which was initially scheduled to be held in the Nangoza Jebe Hall next Sunday, will mark the first time a boxing event is held at the world-acclaimed venue.
Zantsi said she was persuaded to move the event to the venue, which hosted 2010 Fifa World Cup matches, as it attracted more financial partners, with SABCTV also likely to televise it.
“We are excited about taking boxing to the venue renowned for hosting world sporting events,” she said.
While boxing will gain new ground, the spotlight will be on Bell to see how she will perform in the new division with which she has been flirting for a while before finally deciding to make it official.
With the exception of the Ferreira fight, when Ferreira was found with suspicious tablets before the bout but was never tested to ascertain whether or not they contained a banned substance, Bell has been fighting in the catchweight in two of her latest bouts.
She weighed as a junior welterweight in her eighth-round stoppage win over Abongile Lubambo in March 2025 and was a welterweight in her third-round corner retirement against Albina Moldazhanova in Russia in August.
Witbooi, who was absent in Bell’s loss to Ferreira, said she could not make the junior lightweight any more.
“She has outgrown the junior lightweight, and I guess that is why she was lethargic against Ferreira, though I do not want to speculate because I was not there,” he said.
“But we are ready to officially make the junior welterweight her new home, and what a better way to do so than with a WBF continental title to boot.”
Bell, who fell short twice in world title challenges, losing a WBO title shot to Pole Ewa Brodnicka before she was stopped by English lass Terri Harper in an IBO duel, has not given up on her dream of chasing another world title.
Having already held the marginal WBF belt, her victory over Homakoma will likely net her another shot at the title, which could lead to bigger bouts.
“We want to win one bout at a time and see where it puts us, but I have been hugely impressed by her in training sessions,” said Witbooi.
“She has not lost her hunger and sharpness; instead, she looks hungrier after the Ferreira debacle.”
Though Bell’s “loss” to Ferreira was her fifth in 21 bouts, her wealth of experience makes her one of the shining women boxers in the country, despite her being 36 years of age.
Daily Dispatch
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