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Tadious Manyepo
Sports Reporter
STAR Zimbabwe female boxer Kudakwashe “Take Money” Chiwandire has to wait until at least next year to get another chance to lay her hands on a title.
The 28-year-old former WBC super-bantamweight interim champion had set her guns on pinning down the WBF intercontinental belt on Saturday.
But the scheduled duel against South Africa’s Nomusa Ngema in Dundee, Durban has been cancelled, leaving the Zimbabwean pugilist a disappointed lot.
One of the organisers of the bout Elphas Dladla wrote to both Ngema and Chiwandire confirming the negative development without providing any solid reasons.
“I am informing you regretfully that the bout between your boxer (Nomusa Ngema and Kudakwashe Chiwandire) is officially cancelled,” read the notice.
“The bout was due to be a WBF intercontinental title scheduled to take place on the 12th of October 2024 in KwaZulu Natal Province Dundee.
“We are aware that the boxers have been waiting for this bout to happen and have prepared for it but due to unforeseen complications, the bout is officially cancelled.”
However, Chiwandire knows she doesn’t have to dwell on the disappointment forever as she needs to get back into the ring and regain match fitness more than a year after her last fight in Mexico.
Her former boss at Deltaforce Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts Academy Clyde Musonda has already hastily put together a fight for the now self-actor which will see her taking to the ring against Tanzania’s Flora Machela in Lilongwe, Malawi on October 27.
Chiwandire’s bout has already been chiselled in on the undercard whose main draw card features another Zimbabwean Farai Makombe up against Simeon Tchetha.
Two other Zimbabweans Tinashe Majoni and Tinashe Mwadziwana will battle it out against Alick John and Nyungabo Kuminga both of Malawi on the same bill.
But all eyes will be on how Chiwandire will fare in her come-back fight since her unsuccessful challenge for the WBC gold against Mexican Yamileth Mercado in Chihuahua in March last year.
Before that defeat, Chiwandire who is the best-ranked pound-for-pound female boxer in Africa had beaten Zambia’s Catherine Phiri to win the WBC interim title which she also successfully defended against Mexican Zulina Munoz to give her the license to challenge for the gold stripe.
But after that defeat, which was marred by poor logistics on the part of the Zimbabwean, Chiwandire never looked like she wanted to remain in boxing before she then made a rebound.
And she will be eager to start building her profile once again when she tackles Machela who has a record of 9-13-1 in Malawi at the end of this month.
That neither she nor Machela will be on home soil makes the bout even an interesting match-up to look forward to.
Chiwandire said she is ready to face Machela in Malawi.
“Remember I have been preparing for the WBF intercontinental bout that has now been unfortunately scrapped by the organisers.
I am fit and ready to go for anyone right now because of the preparation that I have had,” said Chiwandire.
“I will roll over my opponent in Malawi and set my way up again. I am back in the ring and I want to make it count.”
Online Reporter