Online Reporter
Tendai Chara
Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE boxer Monalisa Sibanda lost her match against Malawi’s Ruth Chisale by unanimous decision on Saturday night.
The bout, an eight-round non-title fight, was held at the Kumbali Country Lodge in Lilongwe, Malawi.
The judges scored 59-54, 60-53 and 60-56 in favour of Chisale.
Sibanda, who conceded defeat, used her social media handle to announce the results.
“We lost on points Zimbabwe. I am still the WBA champion since my belt was not for grabs.”
“We didn’t get knocked out,” the 42-year-old wrote.
Sibanda faced impediments before the fight including an overweight scare and last-minute withdrawals by members of her technical team.
Before the fight, the veteran boxer appeared to be headed for disqualification after weighing 74.2kg against the middleweight limit of 72.580kg.
She was then ordered to shed excess weight within two hours in a bid to save the fight.
When she returned to the scale after the stipulated two hours, Sibanda tipped the scale at 73 kilogrammes, which is over the middleweight limit by 400g.
The organisers of the bout gave her the nod to fight despite her being overweight.
Sibanda also faced major setbacks when she was ditched by her coaches.
Simon Sangulani unceremoniously withdrew his services three weeks before the fight.
The champion’s preparations were thrown into further turmoil when Tom Fernando, who had been roped in as Sangulani’s replacement, also failed to travel with the boxer to Malawi.
Brighton Mwando Mbidzo, a Zimbabwean match-maker who is based in Malawi, stood in Sibanda’s corner during the fight.
