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Tadious Manyepo-Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE female boxer Kudakwashe “Take Money” Chiwandire has roped in highly-rated South Africa-based pugilist Tarisai Mutsau to help her out in sparring sessions as she intensifies preparations ahead of her World Boxing Council (WBC) international bout to be staged in Australia in a fortnight.
Chiwandire is challenging for the belt against Indian holder Urvashi Singh in a fight scheduled for December 15 in Victoria, Australia. The former WBC bantamweight interim champion was last in the boxing ring in April this year when she went down to Mexican Yamileth Mercado in a WBC gold contest in Chihuahua.
And after months of re-organisation, Chiwandire is keen to once again capture global imagination with a win over the champion in two weeks’ time.
Without much corporate support, the 27-year-old is training from home as she has no financial resources for camping. But she is not deflated by all that.
She was in a jovial mood as she held an open training routine in the presence of the media in Harare yesterday.
“My hope this time around is for us to travel early, as scheduled, so that we have sufficient time to acclimatise and prepare for this bout,” said Chiwandire.
“The fight is about life and death. That is how important it is to me. Last time we lost to Mexican Yamileth Mercado. We were in the ring barely 12 hours after arriving in that country. I have always said we can’t use that as an excuse as to why we lost but that was not proper.
“We will travel early this time around, I am told, and we have no excuses. I am preparing hard to try and regain my place. We are bringing that belt home.
“Our preparations have been going on very well and I would like to thank my sparring partner Tarisai Mutsau for agreeing to help me prepare for this defining fight.
“She is more than just a sparring partner but a training colleague as well. She makes sure that she pushes me every time we train, be it in the gym or in the ring”.
Mutsau said judging by the way Chiwandire has been preparing, she was confident the pugilist will pull through in Australia.
“Kuda Chiwandire is a beast. Her will power is unmatched and I can safely say, as much as I try to be as resistant as I can be, she is always indomitable.
“I am very sure she will win come December 15,” said Mutsau.
“I have been a training and sparring partner to someone who is very detailed when it comes to the game of boxing. She is also very much willing to learn.
“She is always listening and I think her ability to adjust to different workloads within a short space makes her very unique. I think the belt is on its way to Zimbabwe”.
Chiwandire’s coach Tarisai Ponde said they are almost there now in terms of readying the boxer although she is still carrying a 2kg excess mass.
“The 2kg extra weight she is carrying is obviously for training purposes. But once we say let’s shed it off there should be no problems. But generally, we are almost there now,” said Ponde.
“Chiwandire is a keen boxer who wants to explore more and I am happy we are improving every day.
“We have been working on several aspects of boxing and all in all, I can say we are nearly there and come the 15th of December, we can bring the belt home”.
Deltaforce Academy director Clyde Musonda who is also the co-coach and manager for Chiwandire said all the logistics are now in place with visas expected to be issued today ahead of the team’s departure to Australia on December 9.
“I should say everything is moving well according to plan. We have submitted the applications for visas and we should be receiving them tomorrow (today),” said Musonda.
“We are confident that we will win because this time around, logistics are flowing nicely. We are scheduled to leave for Australia on December 9 if all goes well. That will allow us time to acclimatise and get used to conditions in this country ahead of our fight. We will bring back home the belt”.
Online Reporter