BY HENRY MHARA
ZIMBABWE boxing superstar Charles Manyuchi has admitted he had to dig deep to defend his World Boxing Federation (WBF) middleweight title against Mohammad Sebyala at the weekend.
The 31-year-old claimed a unanimous decision (116-110, 117-109, 117-109) victory over the Ugandan to retain the title in a fight held at Flamboyant Hotel in Masvingo on Saturday evening.
With the victory, the former WBC silver welterweight champion also unified the Waba World Supreme and World Professional Boxing Federation (WPBF) titles.
Manyuchi, idle for a year-and-a-half, looked to suffer from rust early on and had to endure hard punches from the determined visitor in the first few rounds.
But as soon as the local favourite found his groove, there was no stopping him as he scored two knockdowns on his way to a deserved win.
“I had to show a lot of resilience as I took a lot of punches, but eventually I conquered. It was a tough fight and I am happy that I won,” Manyuchi, who is grateful to the government for allowing the fight to go ahead, said.
It was the only fight given a go-ahead, with all the other fights on the bill cancelled by the government at the eleventh hour as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19.
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“I want to thank the government for allowing me to participate in the title fight in these COVID-19 times. I’m really grateful.”
Manyuchi was at risk of being stripped off the title as WBF had threatened to declare it vacant if the fight had been postponed for the second time.
This tournament should have taken place in March last year, but failed because of coronavirus.
He is expected to defend the WBF title in the United Arab Emirates in August.
Three months later, Manyuchi is expected to travel to Tanzania to defend the Waba and WPBF titles.
- Follow Henry on Twitter @henrymhara
