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SHE has been in the game for 15 years and is undoubtedly the most experienced female boxer in the country, but the year 2020 has been something else for Monalisa Sibanda.
The novel coronavirus has stalled boxing for the past nine months, and for Sibanda and other local female pugilists who rely heavily on income generated from the ring, life has been tough.
The 37-year-old Sibanda could have defended her Women’s International Boxing Association (WIBA) title this year, but that potentially lucrative bout was knocked out by Covid-19.
“It hasn’t been easy, but God is in control,” Sibanda told The Sunday Mail Sport.
In the absence of boxing, the WIBA champion has turned to other means of survival, including conducting physical training sessions.
“I had saved something from my last fight and I was doing some physical training sessions for a fee. My daughter is working, so she was helping me.”
Sibanda had a breakthrough when she clinched the vacant WIBA title after defeating Joyce Awino of Kenya via a unanimous decision in Nairobi in April 2019.
“I received the athlete fund and some of my sponsors have been taking care of me.
“Now I am looking forward to start training in preparation for my title defence once the sport is given the green light by the authorities,” she said.
Sibanda turned professional in 2005.
According to Boxrec, the veteran pugilist has a 5-9-0 record.
The coronavirus-induced lockdown has also affected highly rated Chiedza “The Queen Tiger” Homakoma, whose career was on the rise when sport was prematurely halted.
The 27-year-old Homakoma won her two previous international fights against Euria Matoga of Malawi and Maimuna Hashim of Tanzania.
“These are tough times for us,” said Homakoma.
“As boxers we survive from fights. This is our job, but now we can’t step into the ring because the sport has been shelved because of the coronavirus pandemic.”
Her last fight was against Matoga in Harare on May 31, 2019.
“Even our health, we are used to training everyday, but we can’t do that. Our plea is that the authorities give us the go-ahead to fight even in empty venues; our fans can still watch online.
“There were some promoters who introduced shadow boxing challenge matches; this helped us a bit,” said Homakoma, who has a 3-1-2 record.
Some of the prominent female boxers in Zimbabwe include Delta Force’s Revai Madondo, who was due for an African title fight; Talent Nyagura and rising super bantamweight star, Zvikomborero Danzwa.
Online Reporter