(South Africa) 22 June 2012: Kia is a brand which is very actively involved in various sports, from football, to tennis and golf, the Asian X-games, and now most recently… boxing. In May 2012, Kia Motors South Africa (KMSA) signed an agreement with Golden Gloves, the official organizer of the 2012 Super8 Boxing tournament, to be the official vehicle sponsor to this exhilarating tournament.
The Super8 Last Man Standing competition, organized by one of South Africa’s most successful boxing promoters Rodney Berman, is an exciting concept that sees 8 top-class boxers competing against each other with the ultimate goal to be crowned as the overall champion.
Further to Kia’s involvement in the tournament, KMSA has decided to sponsor one of South Africa’s upcoming boxing stars, Flo Simba, who is also taking part in the tournament. As part of the arrangement, KMSA sponsors Flo with a brand new Kia Cerato as well as Kia branded boxing gear. “Flo is one of South Africa’s upcoming boxers and showcases great talent”, comments Brian Mitchell, who is actively involved in the organization of the tournament. “We are very excited about sponsoring Flo Simba, and we are confident that he will be a great ambassador for the Kia brand”, adds Ray Levin, CEO Kia Motors South Africa.
The first round of this competition kicked off Saturday 16 June 2012 at Emperors Palace. Unfortunately Ran Nakash was disqualified from the competition as he failed his weigh-in, giving a disappointed Johnny Muller a walkover result. The first round saw Zack Mwekassa taking on Thsepang Mohale, Thabiso Mchunu taking on Flo Simba and Daniel Bruwer taking on Danie Venter. Two of the three Super Eight bouts ended in spectacular fashion, with drama in the Thabiso Mchunu-Flo Simba matchup and explosiveness in the Zasck Mwekassa-Tshepang Mohale showdown.
“The first round of this tournament was a rousing success with a full house coming out to see the top cruiserweights in action”, comments promoter Rodney Berman.
The second round will take place 22 September 2012 at Emperors Palace where the two semi-finals will showcase Kia ambassador Flo Simba taking on Mchunu in the re-match and Danie Venter facing Zack Mwekassa.
The third and final round will take place on 11 November 2012 where the ultimate “Last Man Standing” will be crowned.
To add to all the excitement, Kia Motors South Africa is going to give away a brand new Picanto in a lucky draw over the 3-month period. To enter, a ticket for R100 has to be purchased, after which a lucky winner will be announced at the final showdown in November. The majority of the proceeds of the competition will be donated to the “Dikeba” boxing initiative and the balance of the funds will be distributed to other under-privileged boxing gymnasiums in and around the Gauteng province.
“Kia Motors South Africa is very involved in promoting sport in the under-privileged football community. With this new initiative, Kia strives to extend its reach into the boxing community, and hopefully have a positive effect in developing this sport even further in these under-privileged communities”, concludes Levin.
