Online Reporter
Langton Nyakwenda
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THERE were no balloons or crowds around him, no fanfare in the capital, yet yesterday still meant something to Charles Manyuchi.
The former World Boxing Council silver welterweight champion turned 36 and spent the day quietly, thinking about the one thing he wants more than a party.
He wants to see the Charles Manyuchi Boxing Academy fully built and running.
The boxer was allocated five hectares of land in Chivhu for a long held dream, a complex that will accommodate hundreds of young fighters from Zimbabwe and the region.
The academy already houses 16 boxers from Zimbabwe and Zambia, including the highly-rated Simon Ngoma, a three-star Lusaka-based fighter. It also shelters Chivhu’s Clever Sithole, who recently lifted the Trabablas Super Middleweight title, and former World Boxing Federation welterweight champion Evans Husayihwevhu.
“I owe my life and everything that I have achieved to God, without Him I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Manyuchi told Zimpapers Sports Hub.He knows he is into the final stretch of his career and that only a few fights remain.
“Boxing should not die when I retire, it has to continue. Boxing is bigger than Manyuchi. I have to leave a legacy in this sport, which gave me both fame and fortune. So, establishing a boxing academy in Chivhu is something that I wish to do. It’s my desire to support upcoming boxers and give them a good platform to showcase their talents,” he said.Manyuchi has stepped into the ring 36 times since his debut in Harare on February 14, 2009.
His record stands at 30 wins, with 19 coming by knockout, five defeats and one draw.
“I am proud of my record,” he said. “I have travelled across the world thanks to this sport. The fact that I also held the WBC belt makes me prouder.”
His rise began on June 28, 2013 when he stunned Burkina Faso’s Patrice Sou Toke in Ouagadougou to win the African Boxing union welterweight title.
He followed it up in March 2014 by taking the WBC International welterweight belt off Patrick Allotey in Lusaka. The biggest moment came on May 6, 2016 in Yekaterinburg, Russia, where he shocked Dimtry Mikhaylenko to lift the prestigious WBC Silver belt. He lost that title a year later to Qudratillo Abduqaxorov of Uzbekistan in Singapore, falling to a first round knockout. Manyuchi recovered to claim the World Boxing Federation and Global Boxing union titles.
Now fighting as a heavyweight, he last defeated Limbano Lano of Malawi at 7 Arts Theatre in March. “My mind is now more focused on developing the youths,” he said.
“It’s great that I got land to build an academy from the Chivhu Council but I don’t have enough resources to build this academy.”
Mathew Masinge