A Cape Town boxer has made history by becoming the first female Muslim flyweight champion to bring home a silver medal from the South African National Boxing Championships.
Saafiyah Sonday is also the first female champ of the Phenomenal Boxing Promotions super flyweight division at Fighterz Inc and MMA Wellness Academy.
In July, she won silver at the national boxing competition in Limpopo.
Saafiyah of Pinelands started with mixed martial arts three years ago but later developed a passion for boxing, says her coach Fidaah Edries.
Earlier this year, Edries himself was nominated for the Forty Under-40 Award – identifies and celebrates the nation’s most influential and accomplished business leaders under the age of 40.
He says: “She fell in love with boxing in the beginning of this year and followed her coach’s advice and focused only on one division, boxing.
She loves boxing as it is not easy but it is very technical and someone has to become exceptionally good to become a champion.”
Saafiyah’s hero is Clarissa Shields, the pro American boxer and mixed martial arts champ.
On 25 November, Saafiyah, who boasts a record of six wins and three, competed at the Phenomenal Promotions Championships in Ottery and won the women’s super flyweight division.
And Edries adds: “She showed a dominant performance against her tough opponent.”
Sports-mad Saafiyah, says boxing makes her feel alive and she wants to inspire young women like herself to be authentic and to strive towards their goals.
She says: “Boxing is more than just a physical passion to me. It has taught me focus, discipline, determination, humility, and inner strength.
“Coming this far is a culmination and combination of extreme hard work and passion and to have accomplished this in this short space of time is an honour.”
She says as a Muslim and woman of colour, she celebrates her success and hopes that it paves the way for others like herself.
The 21-year-old says: “Sport in itself is not always a celebrated career for women, so it feels liberating to be able to forge a path less travelled and traditional.
“I hope it will open doors for young women of the future to show them that anything is possible.”
geneveive.serra@inl.co.za