Take money guns for WBC title
Despite failing to clinch the World Boxing Council (WBC) gold by a whisker last year, Zimbabwe female star boxer Kudakwashe Chiwandire's camp believes they have a fresh start and are looking forward to winning titles this year.
Chiwandire, who is in the hands of Clyde Musonda of Deltaforce Academy earned a spot for the WBC gold last year after she successfully defended her WBC interim super bantamweight title against Mexican Zulina Munoz.
However, logistical challenges were a huge setback when she went for gold against another Mexican
Yamileth Mercado as Chiwandire arrived for the fight in
Mexico barely
12 hours before taking to the ring. Musonda, however, believes that despite all these setbacks, Chiwandire has managed to rise above odds and will hit the ground running this year in order to reach their target.
"Our aim this year is to win the WBC world title because right now Kuda has three and a half star ranking whilst she is also the first ranked female boxer in Africa in all divisions and number eight the in world. We still have chances to get to the top and get that fight we lost in Mexico," said Musonda.
"i want to keep her active because she last fought on 18 March last year, so hopefully by next month i'll just get her a non-title fight to keep her in shape. "there are also a good number of promoters outside Zimbabwe who are showing interest to get her some fights. Also, the postponed fight in Australia is still on the cards."
Chiwandire had secured another shot late last year as she was scheduled to clash against indian Urvash singh for the WBC international in December. However, her side failed to secure Australian visas forcing the fight to be shelved whilst waiting for a new date. Musonda also highlighted that last year's setbacks were a learning curve on how processes for big fights unfold and will now use those experiences to better prepare for upcoming fights.
"Last year was not actually our year because we lost the WBC gold in Mexico due to some travelling challenges and it really affected our performance. it upset us because we were looking forward to winning that fight according to the preparations we did," he said. “We travelled for about 35 hours and rested for a few hours but Kuda however managed to stand up and fight all the rounds. We however tried to appeal and get another chance but it was all in vain."
"though she lost in Mexico, to me she won. she showed a heart of a lion considering all the challenges she faced heading towards the fight. Managing to stand for over 10 rounds against someone on homeground really showed some bravery."
"We are just hoping that in the long run we won't encounter such problems. Last year was a learning curve for us because we were having some of the fights for the first time and everything was new to us."