“Softie”. That’s what Asemahle Sentile’s father called him as a child, and the reason he stepped into the ring at the tender age of six. He’d seen his older brother earn respect as a young boxer and followed suit. “I wanted to make my father proud and prove to him that I was strong inside and out,” he says.
At Khayelitsha Boxing Academy, Asemahle threw himself into the sport. Within a few fights he’d started to rise through the ranks – eventually taking the title of Western Cape champion in numerous categories. “As much as I wanted to prove my father wrong, I didn't do boxing to win titles,” he says. “I did boxing to become better than what I was yesterday.”
And that’s exactly what he did. “At nationals, each day you’re fighting someone different. You need to up your game every day,” Asemahle says. “That's how life is – every day is a different challenge, and you need to face that challenge with a different strategy.”
On the path to self-improvement, Asemahle received a bursary to study further and qualified from the University of the Western Cape with a degree in Psychology. “Studying Psychology helps me a lot in boxing because as much as it's a physical sport, it’s 10% physical, 90% mental,” he explains.
“It’s human nature that when you get hurt, you respond to defend yourself, you get angry. But in boxing, you need to adjust,” he says. “So you will get hit, but it's how you respond to those punches.” This belief was tested when, after years of intense training, mental discipline, and local titles under his belt, Asemahle was selected for the South African National Boxing Organisation’s elite squad for the World Olympic qualifiers. Yet shortly after, his Olympic dreams were dashed due to Covid-19 and South Africa’s nationwide lockdown.
Anyone else would have been crushed. But Asemahle, who had never aspired to titles, just the desire to be stronger mentally and physically, knew this was a necessary redirection. Boxing had taught him to roll with the punches, be ready for anything, and never hesitate to come back stronger.
For Asemahle this meant going back to Khayelitsha Boxing Academy to develop the next generation of champions. “I always believed that boxing would be how I change my life and the lives of those around me,” he says.
Under the tutelage of the academy’s founder – the late Ayanda ‘Ginger’ Mapasa – Asemahle was encouraged to find each person’s unique interests and skills that could be used to help others. “He [Ayanda] told us that every kid that enters that door, there's a purpose in him. If he's not a good boxer, maybe he's a good writer and can write proposals for us. Maybe he's good at sewing and can design a boxing kit,” Asemahle explains.
What started as 50 kids training in one shack is now a burgeoning initiative giving kids a safe and inspiring space to call home. Having witnessed the impact of crime and substance abuse on his community, Asemahle is eager to provide alternatives. “I think it's easier for me to train these kids because I understand their struggles, I understand where they're coming from, and I understand their pain,” he says.
By instilling in them a positive attitude, a sense of discipline, and the assurance that someone believes in them, Asemahle knows they will be destined for more. “My ultimate dream is for these kids to become champions,” he says. “Champions in boxing, champions in life.”
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