WORLD Boxing Welterweight champion Charles Manyuchi will later this month stage a boxing tournament in Chivhu, a first of many tournaments he has lined up across the country, as he hopes to resuscitate the sport.
BY HENRY MHARA
The 26-year-old, who successfully defended his title in Italy recently, is working with a local sponsor, an initiative which they think can take the sport that has hugely faded, back into the national limelight.
“Together with my sponsor Mr T35 we are hosting a tournament ‘The Bees Boxing Tournament’ on the 19th of this month. We will have 18 bouts from fighters coming from all the country’s provinces. The plan is to have something like a boxing league where we will have this kind of tournament in all the provinces.
“From Chivhu we will go to the Midlands, Harare, Bulawayo and then to all the other provinces. We feel that the sport of boxing is lacking and we have taken the lead to revive it,” said Manyuchi.
“The winners will be sponsored by Mr T35 under the Bees Boxing stable. The stable will provide training and fighting equipment and cater for all their travelling costs when they are going for fights in and outside the country.”
Manyuchi said they have also begun talks with Chivhu town council to open a boxing academy in the city.
“The ultimate goal is to open an academy that will help to nurture upcoming boxers. We have started negotiations with the town and we have agreed on something that regard.
“I’m excited of these developments and I’m hoping to inspire young boxers to greater things.”
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Manyuchi has earned a fortune from the sport of boxing and he feels this initiative will also help aspiring boxers. “I’m a testimony of someone earning a living through boxing, so I’m encouraging youngsters to participate and emulate and possibly better my achievements this far. “I’m grateful for Mr T35’s gesture and I’m urging other corporates to come on board and support us as we seek to revive boxing in the country.” Manyuchi, who has been in the spotlight of late since his demolition job on Italian Gianculla Frezza in Italy to retain his title, and was rewarded with a $50 000 golden handshake by President Robert Mugabe, was a guest of honour at the National Youth Games in Mutare last month where he scouted four boxers that will also be supported by Mr T35.
