The Sunday Mail
Langton Nyakwenda
Sports Reporter
HE was introduced to boxing by an ex-British soldier, his father is half Scottish and he is based in Australia, but he has chosen to represent Zimbabwe, where he was born 23 years ago.
A highly rated amateur heavyweight boxer who weighs 81kg and has already won the Australian Amateur Boxing Championship, Daniel Stuart is dreaming of representing his motherland at the Olympic Games in Tokyo next year.
But he has to acquire Zimbabwean citizenship first before he can be eligible to represent the country at the upcoming Olympic qualifiers.
The final leg of the qualifiers will be held in France in May 2021, and the Zimbabwe Boxing Federation — the custodians of amateur boxing — are sending a team, hoping for a change of fortunes after a disastrous outing at the previous qualifiers in Senegal early this year.
Zimbabwe national amateur boxing coach, Alexander Kwangwari, has been in contact with Stuart’s handlers and the process of regularising the boxer’s papers could start anytime from now.
Stuart is handled by South Africa-born former three-time champion, Lovemore Ndou, who fought 64 professional fights between 1993 and 2012.
Ndou held the IBF junior welterweight title in 2007 and the IBO welterweight belt from 2009 to 2010.
The legendary Ndou, who escaped poverty in Musina to become a world champion before graduating to become a reputable lawyer in Australia, is excited about Stuart and has tipped the upcoming heavyweight boxer to scale greater heights.
“Daniel (Stuart) is a hard worker, I like that about the kid,” Ndou told The Sunday Mail Sport from Australia.
“He has already won the Australian Amateur Boxing championship. He has also completed High School and I will also be encouraging him to pursue University studies to prepare for life after boxing,” Ndou said.
“Stuart was introduced to me by a good friend, Anthony Hawkins. Hawkins has known him for a long time and has been sponsoring him.
“Hawkins told me Stuart was considering turning professional but needed a manager or business advisor who will have his best interests at heart and felt I was the right person. He then sent me some footage of Stuart in action and I was impressed.
“I then started talking to Stuart and the more I spoke to him the more I liked him.
“He reminded me of a younger me, full of courage, desire, and determination to succeed.
“I also like the fact that he comes from a good family, is respectful, well-mannered, and is a God-fearing young man who lives by the Bible.
“I also started talking to his father, Spencer Stuart, and it all made sense to me where he got his good manners and dedication.
“It is then that I decided to work with him and help make his dream come true,” Ndou said.
Stuart was born in Harare in 1997 before his parents migrated to New Zealand in 2008, then Australia in 2009. His father is half Scottish and half Zimbabwean while his mother is a black Zimbabwean.
Both his paternal and maternal sides of the family live in Zimbabwe.
“I have a big family in Zimbabwe. I am currently based in Australia, but I still call Zimbabwe home and uphold my cultural heritage. I intend to come back in the future to live in my country of birth. But, before that, I have to represent my country in boxing. I am a proud Zimbabwean. It is my desire to make my country proud by being the first Zimbabwean man to win a gold medal in the Olympics and create history,” said Stuart.
“It is also my desire to give hope to young Zimbabweans and make them realise that we are capable of becoming anything or anyone we want to be as long as we work hard. I would like to give others hope and make them realise that the world does not come to an end just because you had a bad start in life.
“With hard work, perseverance, and dedication you can make all your dreams come true”.
Stuart was introduced to boxing at the age of 13 by an ex-British soldier who ran a gym in Wickham, Western Australia.
According to Ndou, Stuart has matured to become a potential international boxing superstar.
“He occasionally goes back home to Zimbabwe and the last time he was there was in 2017 when he also trained with Arifonso Zvenyika, the former Commonwealth light flyweight titleholder. You all know Zvenyika, I believe Stuart was in good hands for those few months,” said Ndou.
And Stuart still relishes another opportunity to train under Mosquito.
“I trained with the great Arifonso Zvenyika. It was a very good experience. I am still young. I believe someday I will grow to become a heavyweight and become the first Zimbabwean born champion of the world,” he said.
