The Sunday Mail
FORMER World Boxing Organisation Africa super middleweight champion Tinei Maridzo is drawing confidence from his performance, albeit in a losing cause, in Namibia last Saturday as he seeks to bounce back to the boxing ring.
The controversial Maridzo (32) lost on points to Namibia’s light heavyweight champion Wilberforce Shihepo during the Final Punch to the World Title boxing extravaganza organised by internationally rated promoter Nester Tobias.
Maridzo’s last professional bout had come in July 2012, but the Zimbabwean boxer shrugged off the ring rust to stretch Shihepo to the limit.
The boxer now believes he can build on that performance as he bids to regain his seat on African boxing’s high table.
“I have proven to the world that I am still in the game,” he said.
“For me, it is not just a case of returning to the ring but regaining the WBO title I lost in 2012 and possibly gun for the other world titles as well.
“The Namibian promoter has asked me to join his stable and I am just waiting to get more details.
“The sky is the limit for me; I still believe that one day I will board a plane to the United States of America to fight for a world title.”
Maridzo held the WBO title between 2010 and 2012 before he was stripped of it by the sanctioning body after failing to defend it within the stipulated time.
Disappointed, Maridzo temporarily quit the sport and returned to his other “profession” of touting at Harare’s commuter omnibus ranks.
He made a cameo return to the ring last year, during the Sting boxing night at the City Sports Centre, and dismissed Gweru’s Edmos Takawira in the third round.
Regarded as one of the best pound for pound boxers the country has produced in the last decade, Maridzo’s career has, however, been blighted by controversy.
However, “Wastark Power” reckons it is the “sad” past which is driving him.
“I know I have erred before, I have ruffled feathers and my image is soiled, but that is how boxing kings are born.
“Those past controversies have shaped me and that is part of growing up. You learn a lot from your mistakes.
“That kind of background determines whether one has the courage, is able to swallow the pain and in boxing it is crucial because we endure a lot of pain in the ring,” he said.
Maridzo has been in and out of South Africa over the past year seeking internationally connected boxing promoters, but his recent contact with the Namibian promoter could finally seal his comeback.
“This is my talent, whatever chance I will get I will use it. I want to regain my title and whoever gets in my way in the ring will get hurt. Tobias is starting to see something in me now and he says I should come to Namibia. It is good, it shows I can still do it.”
Tobias, meanwhile, hinted last week that he would sign Maridzo “only if he plays according to the rules.”
Can Maridzo rise again?
Only time will tell.
