10 years later, can Dube reignite the magic again?
NEWS that former World Boxing Association (WBA) pan-African heavyweight champion, Thamsanqa Dube will be returning to the ring to challenge for a continental title was well received in the local boxing community as it brought hope of seeing the Pumula-bred pugilist revive his waning career.
Dube is set to take on Uganda rising heavyweight prospect Shafik Kiwanuka at Kampala’s Lugogo Cricket Oval on 29 November. That Dube’s last international fight was in 2011 and he has been inactive in the ring even on the local scene is set to have a bearing on his performance considering the match is just four weeks away.
The question on the minds of many boxing fans is: “Will this fight rejuvenate Thamzoyah’s career which had seemed to have died a natural death after a long time on the sidelines?”
Dube burst onto the international scene with a lot of promise on 2 April 2009 when he floored South African, heavyweight boxer, Jake Els in the eighth round of a pulsating WBA Pan African heavyweight fight. The feat made boxing followers, promoters and trainers look up. The win got the local boxing scene excited as there was hope Dube will rejuvenate the sport and bring back the euphoric days that saw people turn up in droves to watch international and national boxing bouts in the city.
However, lack of a title challenge saw
Thamzoyah’s stay on the sidelines accumulating ring rust as no one seemed to want to take him on. At home it was no different; with only ageing former heavyweight champion, Arigoma Chiponda, willing to take him on in 2011 and it was a match that did not trouble Dube.
Lack of a fight saw the WBA indicate Dube was no longer holder of the belt although the latter insisted he was still champion.
The fight against Chiponda proved to have been ineffective as a preparatory match as months down the line, Dube fell to then rising Democratic Republic of Congo prospect, Flo Simba in a non-title fight.
A third round punch floored Dube, leaving fans wondering what happened to the prowess that felled Els and left question marks on Thamzoyah’s boxing career. A lull in his career saw Dube gain weight, reaching 140kgs in 2017 when he started making efforts to shed the kilos after a heart to heart talk with World Boxing Federation (WBF) AllAfrica heavyweight champion Elvis Moyo, who at the time pledged to assist him secure a fight but none has been held.
Dube takes on Kiwanuka, a rising star in Uganda where he is touted as the next heavyweight champion. Kiwanuka (23) turned professional late last year and had his first professional fight early this year and announced his arrival with a first round knockout against Kenyan, David Khalama.
The Ugandan, nicknamed the “Killing Machine”, showed the victory, and the way it was achieved, was not a fluke as he again knocked out his opponent in his second fight, DRC boxer, Tyson Mbikayi, in less than a minute. Dube’s appeal to well-wishers to assist him fund a two-week preparatory camp in South Africa shows the seriousness with which he is taking the fight.
Thamzoyah has 15 career fights, winning an incredible 12 matches, losing only three, can use the match to successfully re-launch his boxing career or the “Killing Machine” will put a lid to a boxer who held so much promise but never reached his
full potential.