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Tadious Manyepo Sports Reporter
THE Women’s International Boxing Association (WIBA) intercontinental lightweight champion Monalisa “Queen of the Jungle” Sibanda is leaving nothing to chance as she prepares for a world championship bout.
The soon to be 40-year-old Zimbabwean female boxer is gearing up for the biggest fight of her lengthy career against Germany’s Alicia Kummer in a WIBA world title fight next month.
Sibanda knows the opportunity is hard to come by and she wants to make full use of it.
And she has gone the extra mile by engaging former Kyukoshin World Champion, Samson Muripo, to help her attain the best possible shape ahead of the big fight.
Unlike in the past where Sibanda has worked with renowned boxing coaches, this time she will be coached and managed by one of the country’s top karatekas Muripo.
She told The Herald the move was inspired by the fact that Muripo is a former World Champion who has seen it all in both management and competition at the highest level.
“Do I think Muripo is the right man to coach and manage me ahead of a world championship fight?
“Definitely. This man has been there at the apex. He has seen it all, he has the world at his feet,” said Sibanda.
“You look at it closely, Muripo is the best achieving fighter to emerge from Zimbabwe.
“So I decided to tap from him in a practical manner. He is a good coach and manager too.
“We have always engaged him previously but this is an upgrade.”
Muripo said he felt humbled that a boxer of Sibanda’s repute has decided to work with him ahead of a big fight.
“Considering that I have been giving her the opportunity to train at our Dojo for the last years with hopes to see her dreams come true, I really appreciate her trust in me after she had worked with various coaches across the board,” said Muripo.
“My support and teachings are therefore at hundred percent guaranteed. I wish her nothing but the best for all her endeavours.
“Whenever I have been preparing for my international Kyokushin Karate Tournaments, I would ask boxing coaches like Denver to take us through their training regimes hence our fighting sports have intertwine aspects especially for a sportsperson who is hungry for knowledge,” Muripo said.
Sibanda was given the opportunity to have a shot at the global title after she successfully defended her intercontinental belt last year.
She overcame Uganda’s Small Valente Aciro in July last year at the Kingdom Hotel in Victoria Falls.
She first claimed the stripe following her victory over Joyce Awino of Kenya in 2019 after which she went for over three years without getting an opportunity to defend it due to the Covid-19 pandemic that plagued the world during the same period.
However, the WIBA allowed her to keep the belt until her victory over Aciro last year.
WIBA is a sanctioning body for women’s professional boxing which came into existence in July 2000, and quickly grew into a major force in the sport.
The WIBA was officially founded by American Ryan Wissow, and Colombian Luis Bello-Diaz. Ryan Wissow is the president and owner of the WIBA. Luis Bello-Diaz heads the Universal Boxing Council (UBC), an obscure men’s sanctioning body head-quartered in Bello’s hometown of Cartagena, Colombia.
The WIBA considers itself a respectable championship organisation for a number of reasons. The WIBA has received praise for their accurate and up-to-date ratings, but the quality of WIBA title fights in inconsistent. A number of highly touted boxers have held WIBA titles at some point in their career.
The WIBA has had title fights in Asia, Europe, South America, and the Caribbean, in addition to the USA. WIBA is very geographically balanced, having champions and title fights in many parts of the world, and giving opportunities to female fighters all over the globe, truly opening up the sport worldwide.
Online Reporter