Viyusile Colossa runs white-collar MMA programme
Boy from a South African shantytown becomes a winner in the ring and now gives back through charity based on a white-collar fight project
The boxers claim their corners, nervously punching the air while staring into the middle distance, focused on the fast-evaporating moments before the battle erupts.
They are professionals, but of the white-collar, not leather-glove, variety. They have trained for months to engage in the brutal pursuit of discovering what they are made of.Tonight is the first of three preliminary matches in boxing, Muay Thai and Brazilian jiu-jitsu from which 20 fighters will progress to the White Collar MMA (mixed martial arts) championship in November. A charity event now in its third edition, the championship has raised HK$698,000 so far.
Across the room stands Viyusile "The Cheetah" Colossa. He is a Muay Thai champion, mixed martial arts fighter and the mastermind behind this event.
"Vusi", as he's known, grew up in a humble shack in Welkom, South Africa, with his parents, two brothers and three sisters. There was no electricity, no running water. Violence and crime were the norm within the struggling community.
At 15, he stumbled upon an advertisement for free Muay Thai boxing classes and, being an avid Jackie Chan fan, decided to have a go. That day he changed his life.
"Martial arts is a metaphor for life," he says. "When you're in the ring, you're on your own. It all boils down to you. In team sport you can always shift the blame to someone, but not in the ring."