Jake Tuli (7 July 1931 – 24 November 1998) born Jacob Ntuli in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

was a South African

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and sk ...

fly Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

/ bantam/

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, th ...

boxer of the 1950s and 1960s who won the Transvaal (South Africa) ( Non White) flyweight title, South African ( Non White) bantamweight title, South African ( Non White) flyweight title, and British Empire flyweight title, and was a challenger for the British Empire bantamweight title against Peter Keenan, his professional fighting weight varied from , i.e.

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...

to , i.e.

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Jacob Ntuli turned professional boxer in 1950 aged 19, in his eighth bout he captured the South African bantamweight title and later the flyweight title, in 1952 he became the first black South African to win an Empire championship (the forerunner to the Commonwealth title), this success made him one of the best two or three flyweights at that time, and his achievement was confirmed when The Ring magazine ranked him as their top-rated flyweight, he had 19-fights in South Africa, 25-fights in Great Britain, 1-fight in

Portuguese Mozambique Portuguese Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique) or Portuguese East Africa (''África Oriental Portuguesa'') were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese colony. Portuguese Mozambique originally ...

, 1-fight in the Philippines, and 1-fight in

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of So ...

. Ntuli was the first black South African boxer to receive world acclaim, his achievements are particularly remarkable in that they came at a time when black boxers were severely restricted and had little hope of advancement in the sport, as black fighters at the time were not allowed to compete against white fighters, and were restricted to black promoters, yet ironically, he became a favourite of the white boxing establishment. Ntuli was one of South Africa's finest fighters who made his mark on the sport of boxing, he proved his ability against the very best of his era and in doing this, played a pioneering role that opened doors for other black sportspersons, and is widely regarded as one of the 10 greatest South African boxers of all time, and it was for these reasons that he was posthumously awarded the Order of Ikhamanga in Silver.

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Image - Jake Tuli (left)
1931 births 1998 deaths Bantamweight boxers Featherweight boxers Flyweight boxers Boxers from Johannesburg Recipients of the Order of Ikhamanga South African male boxers {{SouthAfrica-boxing-bio-stub