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The tournament is slated for August 6 and is expected to feature fighters from Finland and Equatorial Guinea.
The Heroes Cup is an annual event and for the past years it has been targeting local fighters but this year’s edition will have an international flavour and will be focusing on professional fighters.
ZIKA president, Tony Kamangira, said they were going to stage five bouts with five local and five international fighters fighting for honours in the open tournament.
“We are going to be focusing on professionals. We are going to pair up five local fighters with five international fighters.
“So far we have two fighters from Finland – Jarkko Jussila and Pirkka Suksi who have confirmed their participation.
“Equatorial Guinea is sending three fighters including Frederico Beaca a world champion and he will be taking on Brighton Tangata.
“This is going to be our first international event and first professional fight for Brighton. Nigeria have shown interest in the tournament but we are still communicating with them and they have not yet confirmed if they are coming,” said Kamangira.
Finland fighters are expected to arrive on August 4. The Zika president said the tournament is a platform to get international exposure.
“We are going to make it an open tournament. This is going to be a big development because worldwide we will be recognised.
“We need to showcase what we have learnt internationally because we have been to a number of countries and we are trying to put what we have learnt into practice. We had a referees and judges course and they will be assessed during the tournament. We want to get international exposure and to interact with different countries so that we can learn something from them,” said Kamangira.
National champion, Tangata, Norman Roben, Norbert Baziyoni, Farai Chitsa and Absolom Citurumane will represent Zimbabwe.
The event is going to be part of the national association’s preparations for the Zone VI championships to be held in South Africa on August 27 and the World Championships scheduled for Dublin, Ireland in November.
Zimbabwe secured a slot at the Championships when Tangata scooped a bronze medal in the Kickboxing World Cup held in Sao Paolo, Brazil in May.
Kamangira said they were hoping to continue working with international fighters in the next events for the development of the sport locally.
Online Reporter