Champion fights the good fight in and outside the boxing ring

Simangele 'Smash' Hadebe takes abused children under her fiercely protective wing. By Thandeka Shabangu

- By Thandeka Shabangu

Champion boxer Simangele “Smash” Hadebe describes herself as someone who fights for those who don’t have a voice.

The reigning Africa Boxing Union flyweight champion has a host of accolades under her belt, including the World Boxing Council silver flyweight title, and whether she’s inside the ring or elsewhere, her gloves are always ready to come off against gender-based violence.

As a beacon of hope in the boxing fraternity and beyond, Hadebe has also been named a SuperSport Real World Champion. This initiative recognises ordinary South Africans doing extraordinary things to positively impact their community through sport and sport-adjacent activities. She works closely with a safe haven for abused children in Midvaal, Gauteng, a personal mission for the woman who still bears scars from her personal experiences of abuse as a child.

Hadebe says it would have made a big difference to have had her own “Smash” fighting for her when she was being abused. It could have given her the courage to speak out sooner and possibly even embark on her boxing career much earlier than at 21 years old.

Self-blame is a common symptom of abuse, and Hadebe says she would have loved having an adult protecting her in her childhood because it would have eased the burden and helped her to discover what she was passionate about. This is the hope she represents for the children she works with, because speaking out when the scars run too deep makes it harder to heal.

“I motivate them to pursue their passion because it's very therapeutic. Whatever sport they are interested in one they are comfortable to speak with — a healer,” she says.

Hadebe is glad for initiatives like the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence, but she also feels despondent because the numbers continue to climb. It doesn’t seem to her as if the campaigns that have been put in place over the years are achieving the mission to put an end to this scourge.