Harare – Zimbabwe’s top pugilist, Charles Manyuchi, has upped his training regime ahead of his bout against France’s Martin Damien in Harare next month.
Dubbed “The night of the Sound and the Fury,” the fight is Manyuchi’s second this year after his come-back UBC and GBU intercontinental unification title win over Pablo Ezequiel Acosta at the Harare International Conference Centre on Africa Day (May 25).
The former World Boxing Council (WBC) silver welterweight champion had fallen into virtual oblivion following his technical knock-out (TKO) loss to Uzbek fighter Quadratillo Adbuqaxorov in March 2017 when he failed to defend the WBC title in Singapore.
But a solid showing against Acosta in Harare, whom he pummelled into submission, spelt an ideal come-back for one of the most celebrated boxers in Southern Africa.
And he knows it won’t be an easy ride against Damien on September 21.
He has since intensified his training methods under the watchful eyes of his coaches Issa and Ali Phiri.
Manyuchi said there was a possibility that he would take his preparations to South Africa and Zambia before coming back to Zimbabwe for the final preparation lap.
“Preparing for such a big fight obviously takes a great deal of energy and time. We have to be thorough in it. Look this is a fight that we cannot afford to lose. We are on an upward trajectory. We have to go out there and prove our mettle.
“The come-back win against Acosta was a morale booster. We now believe in our ability. In what we can achieve.
“The Charles Manyuchi Boxing Academy is giving me all the support and going into the ring on September 21, I will be positive.
“But we need to put more work in it and try to condition to the best possible shape we can,” said Manyuchi.
Manyuchi’s 33-year-old opponent is 16-9-4 (4 KOs).
The 30-year-old Manyuchi, on the other hand has 23 wins under his belt, 14 of them being KOs, four defeats and just a single draw.
–southerntimesafrica.com
