Former SA light heavyweight champion dies at 63

Former South African light heavyweight champion Sakkie Enslin passed away in his sleep yesterday. He was 63.

Sakkie was born on 21 March 1960 and grew up in Melkbos, a coastal town located on the Southwest Coast of South Africa, 30 km north of Cape Town, where as a six-year-old boy he loved running on the beach.

Sakkie was about 13 when his fitter-and-turner father Jan decided to return to what was then still the Transvaal. They settled near Vereeniging, south of Johannesburg.

Izak Johannes, as Sakkie was named after his birth, soon settled in the new surroundings, and excelled at rugby at a local school. As a youngster he took up boxing and soon won the Transvaal schools, Southern Transvaal and Free State titles.

Three months into his final year he left school and became an apprentice fitter and turner. A year later he was called up for military service and sent to the infantry school in Bloemfontein.

During his two years military service he remained unbeaten in 52 amateur fights. In the end he had about 250 bouts, winning the SA middleweight title in 1978. That same year he became a Springbok when he represented South Africa against an American team.

Enslin lost in his professional debut when Basil Meintjies beat him on points over four rounds on 1 March 1980. He came away with a draw and four victories in his next five fights and then challenged Bruce McIntyre for the SA middleweight title.

TRAINED BY EDDIE LUDICK

He was trained by Eddie Ludick, who represented South Africa as a flyweight at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games.

They were confident that Enslin could beat the more experienced champion. For three rounds they stood toe-to-toe in what resembled a street brawl.

In the fourth round McIntyre knocked the challenger down with a right-hand swing to the jaw. Enslin got up but went down again, prompting referee Stanley Christodoulou to count him out on his feet.

Enslin then won his next four fights before losing on points to Lionel Hunter on 28 January 1984.

On 15 May 1985, at the Westridge Park tennis stadium in Durban, he beat Solomon Zuma on a split decision to win the SA light-heavyweight title that Piet Crous had vacated.

Enslin retained the title against Freddy Rafferty and Zuma in a return match before losing it to Sakkie Horn in March 1986.

He only had three more fights, knocking out Douglas Sibiya in the first round, losing in the sixth round to former WBA junior heavyweight champion Crous and ending his career with a fourth-round knockout over Lucas Sereme at Pietersburg on 9 May 1987.

The victory took his professional record to 17-5, with two draws and seven knockouts.