CHARLES Manyuchi’s handlers Oriental Quarries Boxing Promotions (OQBP) finally buckled under pressure and revealed the identity of the Zimbabwean boxing superstar’s opponent for next week’s much-anticipated fight set for the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC).
BY HENRY MHARA
The 26-year-old World Boxing Council (WBC) silver welterweight champion was expected to face Martin Damien in a voluntary defence title fight, but the Frenchman pulled out under unclear circumstances last month Since then, OQBP had been mum on Damien’s replacement, but after NewsDaySport revealed that the bout would no longer be a title fight this week, the Zambia-based promoters were forced to come out and admit so yesterday.
At a Press conference yesterday, OQBP operations director, Chris Malunga confirmed that they had picked lowly-ranked Jose Agustin Julio Feria of Colombia to replace Damien – the current WBC Francophone champion – in a development that could disappoint local boxing enthusiasts.
Julio is ranked 470 in the world, 448 places below Manyuchi.
“Manyuchi’s bout is now a non-title fight of eight rounds and the reason we have accepted this is because that is in the interests of Zimbabwean people,” Malunga said.
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“They want to see Manyuchi fight at home. The boxer (Manyuchi) even pleaded he wants to fight in his country, whether it’s a title or a non-title bout, but he wants to fight so that his (local) fans can also be entertained. We have done a lot of work in terms of making sure Manyuchi wins that match.”
He also attempted to explain the circumstances of Martin’s pullout.
“Contracts were sent to them (Martin’s camp) and they accepted the fight. But then Damien pulled out for reasons known to them. WBC tried to get us an opponent, but most of them were busy and some declined to fight Manyuchi. We had plan B and Manyuchi will fight in the main bout of the night and I can officially confirm the opponent is called Jose Agustin Julio Feria of Columbia. He has a record of 25 fights, with 21 wins, three losses and one draw and I think that is a good record.
“What the fans were asking is: Why is he fighting in Zambia and not here? And now that he is here, they will come to the HICC and give him that support,” Malunga said.
He also confirmed Manyuchi’s rematch with Mikhaylenko for the WBC silver welterweight title in Russia.
Manyuchi is set for a mandatory title defence bout with Russian boxer Dimtry Mikhaylenko and contracts have already been signed.
With Manyuchi reportedly struggling with a shoulder injury, OQBP didn’t want to risk him losing the belt, as that would nullify the lucrative trip to Russia.