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Langton Nyakwenda —
ZIMBABWEAN boxer Charles Manyuchi’s bid for the World Boxing Council welterweight gold title gathered pace last week when his handlers met the world champion Danny Garcia.
Manyuchi’s manager Chris Malunga met Garcia – the holder of the prestigious WBC belt – on the sidelines of the 54th WBC Convention which concluded in Florida, the USA yesterday.
Although Manyuchi’s route to Garcia appears long and congested, Malunga sounded optimistic in an interview with The Sunday Mail during the week.
“We had a good chat with him (Garcia). We had an excellent discussion with the champion but I can’t give the details because that may jeopardize our plan,” said Malunga.
“Garcia is an excellent person, he is a good person.”
The 26-year-old Manyuchi will defend his silver welterweight title defence against 23-year-old Qudratilo Abduqaxorov of Uzbekistan in Singapore on March 25 after the WBC rubber stamped the fight.
After that bout, Manyuchi’s promoters plan to target a top ranked boxer in the mould of WBC number two ranked American boxer Andre Berto.
Although Manyuchi is now ranked 3rd on the WBC rankings and is an eligible contender for the world title, Britain’s Amir Khan remains the mandatory challenger to Garcia’s title.
The WBC’s number one ranked Khan is in line to fight the winner between Garcia and WBA world welterweight champion Keith Thurman in a unification bout set for March 4, 2017.
However, reports suggest that Khan is pondering on whether to continue as the WBC mandatory challenger. According to Boxingscene.com, the 30-year-old Khan is enticed by a more lucrative fight, an all British battle against IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook.
Should Khan relinquish his mandatory status, the WBC will seek to determine if its number two ranked welterweight contender Timothy Bradley is available.
If available, Bradley will fight against the WBC’s highest available contender to determine the new number for the Garcia-Thurman winner.
If Khan is out, it leaves Berto and Manyuchi as the top two highest available WBC boxers. Manyuchi’s camp might then argue that Berto had a recent shot at the world welterweight belt when he lost on points to then champion Mayweather in September 2015.
Online Reporter