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By Gilbert Munetsi
With less than two weeks left for Zimbabwe’s Kudakwashe “Take Money” Chiwandire to step into the boxing ring in Zambia to fight Catherine Phiri for the world’s most elite title in the super bantamweight division – the female World Boxing Council (WBC) championship – she says it’s all systems go for her.
Having adopted a rigorous training regime over the past three months that has seen her conduct sparring sessions with the best, Chiwandire told the media that her focus now remains on the calendar date.
“The notice of the fight and a previous postponement gave me ample time to adequately prepare, and l’m working with my camp to polish up a few rough edges.
“I harbour no excuses going into the fight and for me an opponent’s name and experience are a nonentity.
“Boxing is a sport where surprises have been pulled before and bookmarkers’ favourites have been seen to bite the dust.
“I go to Zambia with one mission in mind, and that is to bring home the revered belt.
“l am privileged to be working with a team that shares this vision with me and corporate backing that has made training life a lot easy for me,” she said. She is managed by Deltaforce Boxing Academy and financially backed by Swetal.
Should she emerge victorious, “Take Money” automatically earns a place in the domestic book of boxing records as the first Zimbabwean in the history of the sport to hold a WBC global title.
The WBC remains the top-most boxing sanction body in the world and shares the A-class listing with World Boxing Organisation, World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation.
This is also the first time ever that a Zimbabwean pugilist has been given a shot that far at a WBC world title.
The last such opportunity was way back in 1986 when the mighty Proud “Kilimanjaro” Chinembiri was offered a chance to fight Lennox Lewis who, at 7-0, was then the IBF champion and a former Olympic gold medalist.
Lewis had requested the scalp of the best boxer from the African continent and “Kili”, who adopted his moniker from the gigantic geographical feature located in East Africa, at the time ruled the roost.
And had that duel sufficed, “The Man Mountain”, then ranked ninth by WBC in the heavyweight, may later have taken on Mike Tyson who, back then, was the champion.
Despite having travelled all the way to the UK in the company of his then manager Philip “Captain Fiasco” Chiyangwa for the fight, it could not happen due to unavailability of ” the correct medical documents.”
And now yet another opening has beckoned right on the doorstep of Zimbabwe’s neighbour!
In Zimbabwe, professional boxing is a sport that does not legally recognise persons of the female gender. However, it was given reprieve around 1995, after the first female fighter, Monalisa Sibanda, approached the Sports Ministry seeking to expand her horizons.
Since then, a number of other female boxers have emerged on the scene, among them Patience Mastara, Chiedza Homakoma, Zviko Danzwa, Netsai Bondai and Revai Madondo. Some of them now boast of national and inter-continental titles.
And, in two weeks’ time, the story of the girl child may be rewritten, albeit in an environment that lacks the full blessings of the legislature.
Chiwandire (W4-L2-D1) and Phiri (W16;KO10-L4) square off at the New Government Complex in the heart of Lusaka, the same venue where Charles Manyuchi niched his name a decade ago under the same stable that is promoting the February 26 event – Oriental Quarries Boxing Promotions.
The difference, however, is that the silver was the furthest that Manyuchi could go, while Chiwandire is vying for a belt a rung higher up the ladder.
The Chiwandire-Phiri duel will be the main match on a card that has a number of supporting bouts, one of which features another Zimbabwean, Aliyah Phiri.
A glance at the records of the two seems to replicate the story of David and Goliath. Though it would be folly to underrate Chiwandire who comes into the fight as an underdog, Phiri’s resume cannot be ignored either.
While the Zimbabwean debuted in 2014 and has only fought two opponents outside of the country’s borders, her rival boasts of having taken on some of the world’s best.
Phiri is a former holder of the WBC bantamweight world title which she won after overcoming Yazmin Rivas of Mexico in January 2016.
She later defended it against SA’s Gabisile Tshabalala at home in Zambia, only to lose to Mariana Juarez, another Mexican, in 2017.
An officer in the Zambian Airforce, she has been honoured by WBC for being the first African to win a bantamweight world title and has also had her government confer her with the Insignia of Meritorious Achievement.
But the differences end there. In a recent video skit posted on social media, Chiwandire took time to break off a training stint to declare:
“Catherine, Catherine, l’m coming for you! You’re the old champion, and l’m the new.”
Phiri, at 35, may find age a handicap deterring her from executing the speed and endurance of yesteryear. If that faculty is anything to go by, then Chiwandire, at 26, has the odds highly stacked in her favour. Nhau/Indaba
