adminAugustine Hwata Sports Reporter
FORMER Zimbabwe cruiserweight boxing champion Chamunorwa Gonorenda is now preparing for a comeback to the square ring following a long layoff due to an injury.
Gonorenda will be one of supporting acts when he faces Zambia’s Donald Kampemba in a light-heavyweight bout in Lusaka on March 15.
A sprain on his right wrist kept the pugilist out of action for eight months but he is now aiming to revive his career with a victory over his opponent.
“With the experience I have gathered from boxing over the years, it will not be difficult for me to get into the groove.
“It has been almost one and half years since I last fought and I am ring rusty but I have now recovered and should be getting into the ring again.
“As sports people, we are prone to injuries but that should not keep me out when I have recovered,” said Gonorenda.
Gonorenda said he always takes pride in former Dynamos captain Desmond Maringwa who battled against a knee injury before returning to action.
“Maringwa was injured for a long time, but he made a comeback and played football. So I have recovered and will use the fight against Kampemba to show that I am still in the game,” said Gonorenda. The Gweru-based pugilist has once again linked up with Issa Phiri of Hard Rock boxing stable as he prepares for the Zambian bout.
“I was a light-heavyweight champion in the amateurs for six years and Phiri was my trainer. I later fought as a cruiserweight in the professional ranks but I feel that I am at my best in the light-heavyweight division (Under-79kgs),” said Gonorenda.
Gonorenda’s bout will be one of the undercards fights on the main bill that sees Zimbabwe’s Charles Manyuchi taking on Ghana Patrick Allotey in a vacant World Boxing Union welterweight title.
A victory for Manyuchi, who is the African Union Boxing welterweight champion, could see him making history as the first Zimbabwean to wear a world boxing championship.
Online Reporter