He said this was the first step towards charting the way forward for a sport that had fallen from grace to grass, with no serious African title contender to talk of in the country of late. The eight-member board was tasked with taking the sport back to the good old days, when Zimbabwe was among the top boxing nations in Africa, with two Africa champions – Proud Kilimanjaro Chinembiri and Styx McLoud and three-time Commonwealth title holder, Langton “Schoolboy” Tinago.
“Our first move is to bring back sponsor confidence to the sport to ensure regular fights for boxers who, for years, have not been able to fight in their own homeland, but have been forced to try foreign lands, where they have received a heavy battering,” said Nenjerama.
Promoter Stalin Mau Mau has previously also hinted that only corporate sponsorship would be able to assist in its revival.The last Zimbabwean to hold a recognised international championship was Arifonso Zvenyika, who won the Commonwealth title way back in 1998 and defended it once before he ultimately lost it for good.
Coltart said he was saddened by the current state of boxing and gave the new board three years to put it back on its feet. – Sports Reporter
Post published in: Sport