adminEllina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
TWO Zimbabwean amateur boxers Brighton Masiyambumbi and Sendy Mbiza are set to take part in the World Championships to be held in Kazakhstan after proving that they have the skills to compete in the event at the ongoing training camp in that country.As part of its development programme for boxers worldwide, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) invited various national federations to send selected boxers to undergo specialised training for a two-week period prior to the start of the World Championships.
The two left for Kazakhstan late last month, where they are training under the guidance of international coaches. The camp will round off with the world championships starting next week and end on October 27.
Zimbabwe Amateur Boxing Association technical director, Petros Masiyambumbi said they are happy that the two pugilists managed to qualify for the championships.
“Those guys were supposed to go for selection during the training camp and we are happy that they qualified for the world championships starting next week. At the moment they are just training and they were being assessed when they began the camp to see if they are fit to compete in the championships.
“Basically they were looking at the training aspect and sparring, assessing on their technical ability and skills. It’s sort of a high performance training because sometimes the training we get within our region is somehow limited so they wanted to expose them to a higher level of training,” said Masiyambumbi.
The ZABA technical director said the camp is also a learning process for Mthulisi Moyo, who accompanied the two fighters as the coach.
“It’s not benefiting the boxers only but the coach will also learn training methods to be implemented back home.
“As for the fighters, we are definitely saying it’s an advantage because they have got the training, the confidence and they know the opponents they will compete with in the world championships. They know what is expected of them so we expect them to reach maybe the quarter-finals,” said Masiyambumbi.
Brighton Masiyambumbi will compete in the welterweight division while Mbiza will battle it out for honours in the flyweight category.
Online Reporter