adminTadious Manyepo
Sports Reporter
KUDAKWASHE “Take Money” Chiwandire has gone through a lot.
She has seen her scheduled World Boxing Council super-bantamweight interim title defence against Mexican Zulina Munoz being moved from August 27.
Although officially rearranged for October 1, the 27-year-old had expressed doubts the fight would take place last Saturday.
True to her prediction, the bout never took off with logistical challenges on the part of the promoters, Delta Force Academy, the fight couldn’t be put together.
The Zimbabwe National Boxing and Wrestling Control Board sought another extension and the historic showdown has been slated for October 15 at the Harare International Conference Centre.
Chiwandire, who went into camp on Monday last week, has been training twice a week but her mental state needs to be worked on.
Her coach/manager, Clyde Musonda, yesterday said his camp has had to deal with Chiwandire’s mentality more than anything else over the past month.
“The long and short of it is that she has been adversely affected by the continuous rescheduling of this important fixture.
“Kuda Chiwandire is a strong character, she has faced so many difficulties and even disappointments. But, in this case, you can as well spare a thought for her.
“She was originally billed to defend her strap on August 27, then October 1 but both dates came and passed. Obviously, she is also human and she is bound to be disturbed in terms of focus,” said Musonda.
“So what we have done as the technical team is to concentrate most of our efforts on her mental management. We are glad to report that she is fine right now.
“We have tried to help her retain concentration levels and keep focused. As the technical team, we have always tried to be there for her. We have also been helping her engage in different other activities like watching football and reading.
“We have been engaging other specialists who have been helping us with advice on how well we could manage her mentality. We are very happy, everything has worked out well and we are now seeing the Kuda (Chiwandire), we always know.
“We knew once the fight was moved from the original date that we needed to incorporate psychological training in our methods. We did just that and we will keep working on managing the mental aspects of it. The fight is on, that is the good part of it and we are ready, she is also ready and focused.”
Zimbabwe will be hosting a WBC-sanctioned fight for the first time with the general Zimbabwean populace itching to witness the historic bout.
But, all was looking gloomy with Chiwandire even risking losing the belt without taking to the ring.
The Government had to step in to rescue the fight after pouring in the required financial resources.
Following the Government’s intervention, Chiwandire’s challenger Munoz and her team are now expected to jet into the country over the weekend to allow them enough time to acclimatise.
Besides the glitches, which are feared to have affected her mentally, Chiwandire is favoured to retain the title and become the mandatory challenger for the actual belt.
“The good thing is that Kuda Chiwandire has been training while carrying the actual weight for the fight. We don’t have to be worried about weight issues so to speak,” said Musonda.
“We made sure that Chiwandire has the required weight. So for all these weeks, we have always been monitoring and keeping the weight in check.
“Physically and technically, Kuda is also up there and we are looking forward to a victory. “She is focused and rarely shows any signs of fatigue. Her ring-craft is up to scratch and we will be looking at notching it up on the day of the fight.
“We are happy that the fight is on and we are aware of the expectations and the responsibility we are carrying.
“This is the biggest boxing fight ever to be held in Zimbabwe and defeat is not an option. We have to go out there, throw everything and make sure we win.”
Online Reporter