IBO president Edward Levine has poured his heart out to both the family of late veteran boxing referee and judge Terrence ‘Ace’ Makaluza, who succumbed to ill-health on Saturday morning.
The Florida-US-based Levine said: “I am so sad to receive this news on the passing of Makaluza. It is a huge loss for the IBO family, South African boxing and to me personally. He will be missed by everyone who had the opportunity to know him.
“Over the last two decades, Ace officiated on over two dozen IBO title fights. As you know his scoring and ratings review after every fight was always impeccable. When he was assigned to a difficult fight he never showed any bias and his scoring was always spot-on. A true model for all our judges. He was also one of the first officials that I licensed from South Africa and I was always honoured and proud that he was an IBO official. We have lost a trusted friend. My deepest sympathies to his family.”
Makaluza is the former professional boxer from New Brighton, Port Elizabeth, in Eastern Cape. He fought against big names including Alfred “Kid Bassie” Buqwana, Anthony “Blue Jaguar” Morodi and Elijah “Tap Tap” Makhathini. He and retired in 1981.
–sowetanlive.co.za
