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Tadious Manyepo-Sports Reporter
KUDAKWASHE “Take-Money” Chiwandire says she will take everything in her stride when she faces Zambia’s Catherine Phiri in the World Boxing Council (WBC) interim bantamweight showdown in Lusaka, Zambia, on Saturday.
The Zimbabwean pugilist arrived in Zambia yesterday afternoon in the company of her coach/manager Clyde Musonda and the duo was awe-struck at the level of support Phiri is receiving in the Zambian capital.
Hooting vehicles with Phiri’s posters and street graffiti of the boxer are some of the common things the pair easily noticed as they drove to their hotel.
But, Chiwandire is not intimidated ahead of her career-defining moment.
That Phiri is the first African female to have won the world’s most revered title is of no significance to the Zimbabwean who has been in camp for the past two months.
“I thank God, we travelled and arrived safely in Zambia. I would like to thank the Zororo-Phumulani team who saw to it that we are here on time,” said Chiwandire upon her arrival in Lusaka yesterday.
“Boxing is not an easy job. I am not facing an easy opponent. This is not an easy territory to take away the belt. But, having said all that, my eyes remain firmly on the prize.
“I have put everything, I said everything in training. I haven’t been staying with my family over the past two months, I have sacrificed so much into this fight and I cannot travel all the way just to fulfil this encounter.
“It’s going to be war. I am ready, more than ready to face off Catherine. This is a life-defining moment for me and I cannot let it go.
“Look, I am in Zambia not for holiday. I know everyone back home is rallying behind me. I am carrying the hopes of the entire nation. I will do everything in the ring to bring the belt back to Zimbabwe. It’s not going to be easy fighting the first female boxer to win this belt and worse in her own backyard, but who said it cannot be done. When Catherine Phiri won the belt for the first time, she did that in Mexico not in Zambia. What can stop me from winning it outside my country just like what she did in 2016?
“I am ready to explode in the ring on Saturday. I am very strong and feeling very much fit.”
Chiwandire is aware of the raucous crowd which often fills the venue of the fight — New Lusaka Government Complex — having been there back in 2019.
“I am prepared for all that. I know the Zambians will fill the venue of the fight like they have always done but well, I am fit mentally and physically. Crowd noise is only something that has to be dealt with psychologically.
“I am past that stage of paying attention to the crowd. I am prepared for this fight. I am one fighter who cannot be intimidated by the size of the crowd.
“I will leave everything in the ring. This is a fight that can change my entire story. It’s a fight that can change the boxing landscape in Zimbabwe, a fight that can change female boxing in Zimbabwe so it’s a massive fight. It all comes down to my application. I know how I am going to tackle Catherine and the country will be proud.
“I have reached the pinnacle and winning this belt will be the icing on the cake. I am ready to rumble.”
Chiwandire was there when her compatriot Talent Nyagura was defeated via a unanimous decision (UD) by Alice Mbewe in a WIBA Intercontinental super-flyweight title fight in April 2018 at the same venue and she said she is out to turn the tables on Phiri this time around.
Online Reporter