daniel chigunwe
Tadious Manyepo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
KUDAKWASHE CHIWANDIRE is in no mood to relinquish her prestigious status as the best pound-for-pound female boxer in Africa.
She has enjoyed territorial dominance in this regard despite losing her bid to capture the WBC gold title when coming second-best against Mexican Yamileth Mercado two years ago.
Back then, the 29-year-old popularly known as “Take Money’’ was just 12 rounds away from getting the world under her feet, but the cruelty of the sweet science is that when one loses even at the highest level, they drop down to the foot again.
Chiwandire is trying to find her way back to the top again, and she can make a significant step towards that if she manages to stop the second-best pound-for-pound fighter in the continent, Malawi’s Ellen Simwaka, in March.
It is a fight that has been aptly dubbed the “Queen of Africa challenge,” with the winner of the WBC Africa bout expected to become the best pound-for-pound fighter in the female category in the land between Cape Town and Cairo.
Chiwandire has enjoyed that post for some time, and she is not ready to drop her guide and stripped of the soothing label.
She has since intensified her preparations under the watchful eyes of her coach, Clyde Musonda, who is also her manager-cum-promoter.
Musonda has secured Chiwandire a challenger to get her into shape for the March 29 bout in Malawi’s Sakina Ibrahim, who she will face on February 21.
The 22-year-old Malawian is considered one for the future, especially after making her professional debut only two years ago.
She has two fights under her belt, from which she has won once via a knock-out and drawn the other one.
And she is expected to be the right candidate to size-up Chiwandire before she plunges into the biggest boxing match to happen in this country in two years.
Musonda yesterday expressed satisfaction with Chiwandire’s preparations.
“We are not leaving anything to chance. This is Chiwandire’s chance to map her journey towards greatness again. She is a great fighter anyway, and she is sitting pretty at the apex of the female pound-for-pound standings in Africa.
“That has to be defended, and Chiwandire is keen to make sure that she doesn’t lose that status for the simple reason that she is fighting her closest challenger to the throne.
“So, we have arranged a preparatory fight for her next month. It’s a tournament in which she will also feature with her duel, the main bout, on February 21,” said Musonda.
“I am definitely excited, and she is also looking forward to both the preparatory fight and the March 29 showdown.
“Once we win the WBC Africa, we will then be on our way back to challenge for the other WBC belts at the top. The WBC Africa title itself is huge and pretty prestigious. We definitely want to win it and see what happens.
“Preparations are ongoing since the start of this month. We will do everything to try and win. What we are just crying for is some help from both individuals and corporates.”
Chiwandire said she wants to win both the February 21 bout and the March 29 showdown for her to firmly set the pace for what lies ahead.
Online Reporter
