Chronicle Editor
Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter
BRAZILIAN football legend Pele once said success is not an accident, but rather hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all love of what you do or what you are learning to do. This is the story of a young Zimbabwean female boxer who was born and raised in Bulawayo.
People tend to think that the only way to succeed in life is through academics, forgetting that there are other activities that can be done in order to make it big. There are people who are doing great in sports and are destined for greatness – little known Monica Mkandla, a 22-year-old boxer who recently won her second professional boxing match in the ESPN Africa Boxing 20 tournament in South Africa is one of them.
Inspired by Laila Ali, the daughter of one of the greatest boxers to ever enter the ring – Muhammad Ali – Monica took up boxing as a way of standing up for herself against bullies in high school, little did she know that it will prove fruitful later on.
Speaking to Chronicle Sport, Mkandla said she suffered in the hands of bullies at Gwanda High School and felt the need to defend herself against them. The school had boxing classes and the little girl joined a class in 2014.
“I was bullied back in high school by upper grades so I joined boxing as a means of self-defence.
“My first fight was against a champion in my weight and I defeated her and from that day it’s when I became a champion at amateur level,” said Mkandla.
The 55,15kg fighter, whose boxing moniker is “Savage”, said she calls herself that as a way of convincing people who don’t believe, because of her looks, that she is a boxer.
“People don’t believe me when I tell them I am a boxer. They say that I’m too pretty to do boxing, so when I enter the ring my mood changes, I become savage, I fight to kill and destroy, so with my face I can still fight and I’m savage,” said Mkandla.
Despite being a good boxer, Mkandla said there are a lot of challenges that come with being female in a sport that is male dominated.
“They don’t take us seriously, I see myself as a boxer but for some coaches they see me as a potential girlfriend and that’s not good, that’s why some aspiring female boxers end up falling pregnant,” she said.
Mkandla only turned professional last month after her win at the Charles Manyuchi Academy boxing tournament and that’s where she bagged her first professional win.
The win was followed by the biggest win of her boxing career after she defeated South Africa’s Nomusa Ngema at the ESPN Africa Boxing 20 tournament in Johannesburg, South Africa late last month. The win came through a majority decision (38-38, 39-37, 39-37) during the four-round bout.
The high-flying boxer said winning in such a prestigious event feels really good. She hopes to continue her winning streak. She is scheduled to reenter the ring on 2 October in South Africa.
“It feels so good and I’m happy about it and I pray and train hard that I win my third fight which is on 2 October,” said Mkandla.
Mkandla, who dreams of being a world champion one day, advised other aspiring female boxers to continue working hard, training hard and to never give up on their dreams.
“Don’t lose hope, just focus on training and everything will be fine and hard work pays because I don’t believe in luck, I just believe in hard work,” she said.
Mkandla’s next fight in October will fall under the World Boxing Council (WBC) and she be looks to follow in the footsteps of her fellow countryman, Kudakwashe “Take Money” Chiwandire who won the WBC Interim Super-Bantamweight world champion in February in Zambia.
Online Reporter