Drum Magazine social history photographs, South Africa edition 915

South Africa, 1955. Be-Bop Goes Boxing: Oliver Tambo Ringside. This iconic photo captures Oliver Tambo at a boxing match. To his left is Dr Rex Tatane, with Dan Chocho visible behind him. On the right, Sy Mogapi, a reporter for Drum magazine, appears to be nodding off. Our usual boxing writer, J.A. Maimane, was unavailable to cover this title fight, so we sent music writer Todd Matshikiza instead. A true jazzman, this was Matshikiza's very first boxing match, and it resulted in our funniest boxing story to date. The initial, 'bloody' bout was a bantamweight match between Sydney Lekwape and John Monokoane. It was a 'lazy, unbalanced fight' where the two boxers were clearly not well-matched. This particular fight left a lasting impression: "I wasn't impressed with boxing after that," the writer noted, echoing the sentiment of "legalised murder," as someone once put it.