25-year-old Leighandre “Baby Lee” Jegels was a multi-talented athlete and brilliant student, who went on to become a much loved and respected educator. She took the professional boxing world by storm by becoming the South African Junior Bantamweight Champion and WBA African Flyweight Champion in Boxing.
She was also an accomplished Karateka and represented South Africa in Karate on several occasions locally and abroad. As a person she displayed a lifelong tenacity in the face of adversity. Born two months premature at St Dominic’s hospital in East London she weighed less than 1.5 kilograms and was so weak that she could not be breastfed. With the odds stacked against her, she never gave up, and after being fed intravenously and spending close to a month in an incubator the attending nurse was heard to remark:
“This child was born to fight“.
From her first fight, to her last, Leighandre displayed strength of character and perseverance that stands as an example to us all to never give up. Join us, as we dedicate this space to her memory, and her enduring fighting spirit.
