Wenslus Murape
Langton Nyakwenda
IT has been a whirlwind year for Aliyah Phiri, one of Zimbabwe’s fastest rising boxers.
This time last year, the lightweight boxer was fine tuning himself ahead of a landmark African Boxing Union championship fight against Israel Kamwamba of Malawi.
The fight was staged at the 7 Arts Theatre in Avondale, Harare, on December 8.
It lasted only two rounds as a powerful Phiri won by a TKO to become the latest Zimbabwean to hold the African Boxing Union belt.
Fast forward 11 months, Phiri is back in the gym, but this time on a different mission.
He is desperate for a comeback after his career took a nasty knock early last week.
The 24-year-old is embroiled in a doping saga and has been suspended until March 2025, after testing positive for the prohibited Furosemide.
Phiri has also been stripped of his ABU title while his last defence against Saidi Mkola in March has also been declared a non-contest.
Speaking to the press for the first time since the ban was announced, Aliyah’s manager and brother, Ali Phiri, told Zimpapers Sports Hub the boxer was determined to come back “fresh, ready and clean.”
“As a club we are apologising to the fans, we are apologising to Zimbabwe for what happened to Aliyah.
“We don’t have an excuse, no.
“We admit we were very wrong and we saw the consequences.
“It has really affected us as a club since Aliyah is one of the rising boxers in the country.
“But we have nothing to do because it’s a doping rule and we fall under these rules.”
He added:
“Aliyah is getting back in April, he is working hard in the gym.
“We are also promising that by next year in April we can host a tournament that takes him back to the position he was before all this.
“He had a high blood pressure problem ahead of the fight against Mkola in March, so he took medication which we didn’t know wasn’t allowed by anti-doping authorities.
“After he was tested, that is when we were told this medication is not allowed.
“It’s sad we reach this stage of a professional career without knowing all these doping rules and which drugs not to use,” revealed Ali Phiri.
Online Reporter