South Africa has reached a new milestone in its boxing history, with three fighters holdingWBC world titles in the same year.
Siyakholwa ‘One Way’ Kuse, Bernice ‘The Badger’ Ferreira and Ricardo ‘Magic Man’ Malajika have all captured WBC crowns in 2026, giving South Africa its strongest representation among the organisation’s world champions in a single year.
The achievement comes after a series of breakthrough victories at home and abroad and marks a notable resurgence for a country with a long tradition of producing world-class boxers.
Kuse became the first of the trio to claim his title when he defeated Filipino champion Melvin Jerusalem by unanimous decision at Emperors Palace in Johannesburg on 16 May. The victory avenged Kuse’s defeat to Jerusalem in their first meeting in Manila and earned the South African the WBC minimumweight title. The judges scored the rematch 116-111, 116-112 and 115-112 in Kuse’s favour.
The 22-year-old had entered the rematch as the challenger but gradually took control of the contest before surviving a knockdown in the 11th round to secure the biggest victory of his career.
Three months later, Bernice Ferreira created another piece of South African boxing history.
The unbeaten fighter defeated Canada’s Caroline Veyre by disqualification in Atlanta on 15 August to become the country’s first female WBC world champion.
Ferreira captured the WBC super featherweight title after the referee stopped the contest in the eighth round following repeated deductions against Veyre for excessive clinching. Ferreira improved to 11-0 with four knockouts.
Her achievement extended South Africa’s growing presence in women’s professional boxing while adding a second WBC champion to the country’s 2026 roll of honour.
The third piece of the puzzle came in Japan. Ricardo Malajika travelled to Tokyo on September 27 and defeated home favourite Tomoya Tsuboi by split decision to win the vacant WBC super flyweight world title.
Two judges scored the 12-round contest for Malajika, 116-112 and 115-113, while the third had Tsuboi ahead 115-113. The victory took Malajika’s professional record to 18-2 with 12 knockouts and made him the latest South African to claim a WBC crown in 2026.
Unlike Kuse and Ferreira, Malajika had to win his world title away from home, defeating a Japanese opponent in front of a partisan crowd in Tokyo.
The three victories have provided a significant boost to a South African boxing scene that has experienced difficult periods in recent years.
The WBC has linked the resurgence to its engagement with South African boxing authorities and stakeholders following President Mauricio Sulaimán’s visit to the country in May.
Sulaimán was ringside at Emperors Palace for Kuse’s victory over Jerusalem and subsequently met Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie, Boxing South Africa chairperson Ayanda Khumalo and CEO Tsholofelo Lejaka.
According to Boxing SA communications and media liaison officer Tshegofatso Thobedi, the latest achievements demonstrate that South Africa’s boxing talent has continued to develop despite the challenges facing the sport.
The country’s three champions have also emerged from different routes.
Kuse and Malajika are trained by Manny Fernandes and managed by former world champion Brian Mitchell, with Golden Gloves promoting both fighters. Ferreira is trained by Arafat Koch and managed by Colin ‘Nomakanjani’ Nathan’s No Doubt Management.
The significance of the achievement goes beyond the number of titles.
For South African boxing, Kuse’s victory demonstrated that local fighters can challenge established champions on home soil. Ferreira’s success opened another door for women’s boxing, while Malajika’s win in Tokyo showed that South African fighters can travel abroad and capture major titles in hostile territory.
It also gives the country’s promoters, trainers and governing structures a platform on which to build.
The immediate challenge will be keeping the three champions active, developing credible contenders and ensuring that the current momentum extends beyond a single exceptional year.
For now, however, South Africa can celebrate an unprecedented achievement.
