The Sunday Mail
Langton Nyakwenda
ZIMBABWEAN boxing is seemingly in the doldrums.
There are no tournaments to speak of while our leading pugilist Charles Manyuchi is now a former WBC Silver welterweight champion.
However, amid all the gloom a 28-year old boxer nicknamed Chairman – after his close friend and dancehall star Killer T – has been working his way up the ladder and is dreaming of challenging for a continental title.
As Manyuchi quietly nurses the Singapore pains, in the serenity of Chivhu, Tinashe Madziwana is determined to bring the good times back to local boxing.
Madziwana’s handlers Delta Force Academy and No Pain No Gain of Malawi also believe he can become the next African Boxing Union bantamweight champion.
Madziwana has won four of his last five bouts, two of them by knockout and has in the process improved his record to 12-11-0. His recent fight was a points victory over Malawi’s number one bantamweight boxer Jobson Adams in Lilongwe on March 26.
“The Chairman” has been on fire since October last year when he charmed local boxing fans with a clinical stoppage of Zambia’s number one Gibon Kamota at the Harare International Conference Centre. The bout was an undercard to Manyuchi’s non title fight against Jose Feria Agusto
Madziwana said he is ready for a bigger stage. “That fight at the HICC was just a glimpse of what I can do. The only problem we have as local boxers is lack of exposure, we are not that bad,” he said.
“I have never stopped training since October last year. I used to spend most my time hanging out with friends in Mbare but now the gym has become my second home.
“With hard work I can soon become the next international champion from Zimbabwe.” Madziwana’s next fight is against Malawi’s number three bantamweight boxer Aubrey “Smart Boy” Masamba at the M1 Centre Point in Lilongwe on June 4.
One more fight will take him closer to an ABU title fight, according to his trainer and local promoter Clyde Musonda.
“We want to take his total fights to 25, his wins to 14 before we take him to another level. Tinashe should be ready for an ABU or IBO title by August,” revealed Musonda.
“Boxing is not dead because we no longer have an international champion. Manyuchi can still come back and we also have a number of good boxers who can do what Charles did.”
