C Is For Cristiano Jesus Ndombassy

Coach Cris as I know him was my first boxing coach and to this day the best coach I've had, and he is someone I have a huge amount of respect for.

Cris is the real deal! Also known as The Warrior of Faith, he is  a professional boxer and belt holder, he is currently holder of the World Boxing Federation (WBF) Welterweight International Champion. He also held the African Boxing Union Title (ABU) Champion which he successfully defended twice.  Cris now coaches boxing for the love of the sport.

A bit of background: Cris is Angolan but lives in South Africa, he's part of the Angolan diaspora caused by the civil war in the country which eventually ended in 2002. He arrived in SA as a youngster and now resides here permanently. Cris started boxing in Luanda aged 15 as a distraction from the gangs he was involved with and his passion was sealed.

His passion aside from boxing is the upliftment of disadvantaged kids through boxing and was recently recognised by the WBA for the work he's doing locally.

On to more personal stuff...

When I came to boxing I knew nothing of what it meant to put on a pair of boxing gloves and begin to train, but thanks to Cris's never ending patience, skill as a coach and unlimited good humour he got me to a position of being incredibly fit and ready for a white collar boxing match (that will be my W post).

After many months of boxercise, Coach Cris eventually allowed me in to the weekly sparring session at the gym, and from there my love of boxing took on a whole new meaning. I became a sucker for getting hit and hitting others! Aside from my love of watching boxing, I owe Cris a lot in terms of my love for participating in the sport.

I'll never forget the first time I was hit by Cris in a sparring session. I thought I was doing quite well, but was about to learn a big lesson! Having unleashed a few punches that missed Cris (you only hit him if he lets you!) he caught me with a jab smack on the nose. My world became disoriented and all I could see for a few seconds was white stars as I momentarily forgot where I was. Chatting with Cris afterwards, he reckoned he'd hit me with about 10% of his full power. That alone commanded a new level of respect.

Cris should also be the legitimate holder of the WBA African Super Welterweight Title, but sadly he was robbed of his victory, but this will be the topic for my T post. 

Cris's fight stats are here. 

I count it a privilege and a pleasure to know Cris and am honoured to call him a brother in Christ.

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This post is part of a series in the Blogging From A To Z Challenge, April 2022.