Online Reporter
Zimpapers Sports Hub
BULAWAYO is set for a boxing revival when the KUZANA CEEZ Sports and Arts Festival stages a seven-bout professional boxing tournament at ZITF Hall 3 on October 9.
The tournament is being organised by Box Africa in partnership with Delta Force, Roygri, Lobengula and Mau Mau Boxing.
The event forms part of the wider Kuzana Sports and Arts Festival, which combines sport and culture.
Organisers, officials from the Zimbabwe National Boxing and Wrestling Control Board and the Ministry of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture recently held a teleconference to assess preparations.
Event spokesperson Gilbert Munetsi said preparations were progressing well, although some logistical and technical work remained.
“Quite a lot of ground has been covered in terms of preparations, but we are not yet at the finishing line,” said Munetsi.
“There is still work to be done, particularly around ensuring that all the logistical, technical and commercial aspects of the tournament are in place.”
The headline bout will see Zvikomborero Chamhere take on Ephraim Dzingisai in a 12-round national bantamweight title fight.
Zimbabwe’s Sehliselswe Nhliziyo will face Botswana’s Dorcas Thabologo in a six-round international women’s super bantamweight non-title contest.
Other bouts will see Tafadzwa Nkiwane face Itai Madongonda in a four-round bantamweight contest, while Manika Tangawabaiwa takes on Emmanuel Chikosha in a four-round heavyweight fight.
Keith Sithole meets Lovemore Madongonda over six rounds in the lightweight division, while Panashe Gadaga and Thabani Gumbi are also scheduled for six-round contests, with opponents yet to be confirmed.
Munetsi said the tournament was aimed at reviving Bulawayo’s rich boxing tradition and attracting corporate support for the sport.
“Bulawayo has a proud boxing history. There was a time when this city was regarded as the stronghold of boxing in Zimbabwe, and the sport enjoyed tremendous support from the business community, spectators and the media,” he said.
“We want to bring back those glorious days when boxing flourished in Bulawayo. We cannot do that alone. We need the corporate sector to identify with the sport and invest in its revival.”
The city has produced and nurtured several notable boxing figures, including Proud Kilimanjaro, Kidd Power Mutambisi, Ambrose Mlilo, Tamsanqa Dube and Modicai Donga. Former world-class Zimbabwean champion Charles Manyuchi was also born in Bulawayo.
Munetsi said KUZANA would seek to connect that heritage with a new generation of fighters.
“We have a responsibility to make sure that the young boxer in Bulawayo today can look at the history of the city and believe that he or she can also become a champion,” he said.
Organisers are also planning at least five amateur bouts to give the event a development component.
“You cannot build a strong professional boxing structure without investing in the amateurs. These young boxers are the future champions, and giving them an opportunity to fight in front of a crowd and under proper technical supervision is part of developing them,” said Munetsi.
He said the organisers wanted the tournament to provide both entertainment and a pathway for emerging fighters.
“We want people to come to ZITF Hall 3 and see good boxing, but we also want them to see the bigger picture. We want to see the sport growing from the grassroots upwards,” he said.
“We have the history, we have the talent and we have the structures. What we need now is for everyone to play their part.”
With a national title fight, an international women’s bout and amateur contests planned, KUZANA is shaping up as a significant date on Bulawayo’s boxing calendar.
For organisers, the bigger test will be whether the tournament can help reignite the city’s passion for boxing and inspire a new generation to take up the sport.
