Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE’S star female boxer Kudakwashe “Take Money” Chiwandire’s career in the squared circle is in jeopardy after suffering a nasty injury in the corridors of her other passion, football.
The former World Boxing Council interim champion has been juggling between sweet science and the world’s most beautiful game, capturing imagination with exquisite skills on the football field, just like what she does in the ring.
But the 29-year-old came off worse in a tackle with a tibia fracture while leading Scottland in a Women’s Northern Region Soccer League tie against Harare City Cubs last Saturday.
She was scheduled to go into surgery for an intramedullary nailing (insertion of a metal rod) at a Harare medical centre late yesterday.
And the injury, which experts say one can completely recover from in six to 12 months, has put paid to Chiwandire’s African Boxing Union championship showdown pencilled for Harare in August.
She was expected to match-up against South Africa’s Sharadene Fortuin on August 23, with this duel having been billed as the main bout on a night when former WBC welterweight champion Charles Manyuchi sizes up against challenger Sam Madanhire.
A win and a successful defence of the ABU title would have placed Chiwandire, who is the best-ranked pound-for-pound female boxer on the continent, in the challengers’ lounge for the WBC title by the end of this year.
With a metal rod scheduled to be inserted into the marrow canal of the tibia to stabilise her fracture yesterday, that means Chiwandire’s football season is also over, as are her boxing prospects, at least for this year.
Deltaforce Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts Academy director Clyde Musonda, who is also Chiwandire’s manager, said he was hurt but remained hopeful his boxer will recover soon enough to take up some fights.
“This is a sad episode in Chiwandire’s life. She has been a beacon of talent, flourishing with the ball on her feet as well as in the boxing ring,” said Musonda.
“This is a serious injury, which we are all praying she will recover from.
“It’s a big set-back for all of us in the boxing fraternity,” Musonda said.
He underlined Chiwandire’s significance to local boxing, adding that her injury had dealt his stable a big blow.
“Look, Chiwandire is the standard-bearer of Zimbabwe boxing.
“She is the only pugilist to scale the WBC interim heights. She is the only boxer to have challenged for the WBC gold title from this country.
“But after losing in that challenge, we had to rebuild the blocks once again. The first step was the August 23 ABU title, before hitting the WBC road again.
“Then comes this let-down. I was promoting that ABU fight against Fortuin in August and guess what? I had already paid the sanction fee to ABU.
“I am absolutely disappointed, but sport can be like that, always.
“We are hoping for the best for her. We are praying for her recovery so that she can come back to the game and reclaim her spot at the top of the ladder.”
While Musonda will now have to look for a local replacement to face Fortuin, Chiwandire will be cursing her gods for delaying her way back up.
The pugilist was last in the ring in December last year when she lost a non-title bout to Karina Tazabeva of Russia in Saint Petersburg.
Before that, she had been off it for almost two years as she suffered a catalogue of disappointments with a handful of her opponents withdrawing from the fight at the 11th hour.
Her last fight before flying to Russia was the WBC Gold Challenge against Mexican Yamileth Mercado in Chihuahua in March 2023.
Chiwandire lost that duel on points but left a lasting impression as she went straight into the ring a few hours after completing an arduous journey to North America.
