In Honor of the Greatest Freedom Fighter: Nelson Mandela was one of us
06 December 2013
MANDELA BOXER
“Sports have the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to invite in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sports can create hope when once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers.
Boxing is egalitarian. In the ring, rank, age, color and wealth are irrelevant… I never did any real fighting after I entered politics. My main interest was in training: I found the rigorous exercise to be an excellent outlet for tension and stress. After a strenuous workout, I felt both mentally and physically lighter. It was a way of losing myself in something that was not the struggle. After an evening’s workout I would wake up the next morning feeling strong and refreshed, ready to take up the fight again”
MANDELA BOXER
These are Nelson Mandela’s words on the value of sport and boxing, extraordinary like him. They demonstrate the profound social value of boxing and I am sure that practicing boxing had given him the courageousness and willingness to fight with moral integrity and strength for freedom, justice and human equality.
MANDELA BOXER
Goodbye Madiba, world boxing will never forget you. Mandela spread the universal message of forgiveness and reconciliation
Statement of Mr. Franco Falcinelli, EUBC President