FOR once, two years ago, local Zimbabwe boxing seemed to be on a revival path. The Friday nights fight, beamed live on Kwese Sports, were on their way to restoring boxing in the country again.
But, the romance didn’t last for long enough before the Kwese TV closed shop.
“Heavyweight category is the most rewarding, in terms of boxing,” said World Boxing Federation Africa commissioner Gilbert Munetsi.
“But, you look at what one needs, the resources, training regime, diet, to be a competitive heavyweight fighter.
“We generally lack resources and, at the end of the day, potential heavyweight fighters end up walking away.
“We also don’t have the right candidates as our built is generally small.
“In terms of the general decline, in boxing standards, I think it comes down to a lack of promotion.
“At the moment, the only promoters active in the country are the Mau-Mau Promotions, Charles Manyuchi Academy and Gerald Sibanda.
“I can tell you that we had just one tournament between 2012 and 2015.’’
He said Kwese TV appeared to have breathed life into the sport.
“The arrival of Kwese TV had heralded a new era in boxing, as we were in the spotlight and sponsors were coming but, unfortunately, the interest in sponsoring the sport died down with the closure of Kwese.”
Veteran boxing administrator and promoter, Stalin Mau-Mau, acknowledged the challenges.
“There is rampant indiscipline among today’s boxers compared to the past generation of professional boxers,” said Mau-Mau.
“Some are into ganja and other substance abuse. Alcohol consumption is their way of life.
“Some have that deep-rooted thuggish lifestyle. We have a lot of talented professional boxers but they fail to grab opportunities which come their way.
“Some are arrogant as to believe that they are already at the top while they are still wet on their noses.”
–herald.co.zw
