Zim boxer fights in UK
RENOWNED boxing promoter, Steven Kalakoda, is confident Zimbabwe’s Felix Venganayi will represent the continent against Joe Murray of the United Kingdom in a WBC Silver International lightweight title in Manchester tomorrow.
Venganayi (34), who is based in Cape Town, South Africa, is among a host of African pugilists selected to fight in a boxing bonanza dubbed “Africa v UK”.
Team Africa is made up of boxers from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The event has been jointly organised by VIP Boxing, Trident Sports (Manchester), South African-based Kalakoda Boxing and Kwese Sports Zimbabwe.
Kalakoda said the event presents an exciting opportunity for African boxing prospects to compete for WBC international titles and test their skills against their British counterparts as well as to tour the UK boxing circuit.
“This is the right place to be and provides great exposure for Africa. From Zimbabwe’s point of view, it’s fantastic because we have Felix, who is a great boxer in my view. There are many boxers in Cape Town and every time I see these guys fight, I have been very impressed by them. I have a lot of faith in Zimbabwean boxers because they are hard-working and when you give them opportunities, they take them with both hands. That’s why I always give Zimbabwean boxers opportunities whenever I can,” said Kalakoda.
Venganayi heads to Manchester bubbling with confidence after winning his last two fights, a technical knockout against Luvuyo Mzamo in Cape Town last month and another TKO against George Owano in Harare on August 25. He goes into the fight with a formidable 10-0 record, including nine TKOs. Venganayi, however, faces a tricky encounter against Murray, who has lost just twice in 23 contests. His losses have been in the super-featherweight division. Kalakoda said he is impressed with how the competition has been received in the UK and its the first time that such a tournament is being held. “It’s the first time to have an Africa v UK boxing event. In the UK, they have already had three or four press conferences that were well attended. This shows people are excited about the format of this boxing tournament. Normally guys fight for world titles or intercontinental titles, but we don’t see tournaments like the one we are having. You know UK is the strongest country in boxing so we expect an exciting competition,” he said. — @khumzallen.