Chronicle Editor
Ricky Zililo,
ZIMBABWE’S last representative at the International Boxing Association (IBA) World Boxing Championships, Joel Hillary Josamu bowed out of the competition as the referee stopped the contest in his bantamweight bill against Seidekmatov Sanzhai of Kyrgyzstan.
Josamu was the last Zimbabwean man standing at the IBA IBA World Championships, which started on May 1 and ends on Sunday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Guatemala referee Pastor Emerson stopped the fight 42 seconds into round two of the last 16 bill as Josamu failed to keep up with Sanzhai.
Bowing out in the last 16 of the competition means that Josamu missed out on progressing to the quarterfinals, closer to fighting in the tournament’s money-spinning stage. Gold medallists in each division will get a cool US$200 000, with the losing finalists walking away with US$100 000 while bronze medallists will take home US$50,000.
Arvian Mathe, Zimbabwe Boxing Federation secretary said besides picking points for rankings at the tournament, the country’s participants were exposed to the competitive stage.
“The guys gave their best and being there, rubbing shoulders with some of the best boxers is an experience that we hope will shape our boxers. They’ve gained experience and we believe that they can do better at future competitions. What they need is to stay active in the ring and have more fights,” said Mathe.
Meanwhile, the trio of Wisdom Dube (featherweight), welterweight boxer Lwazi Mpofu of Tshaka in Bulawayo and Luckmore Kamoto who competed in the lightweight division failed to go past the round of 32.
Dube lost to De Los Santos Feliz Jose Luis from the Dominican Republic, with Kamoto falling to Fiji’s Davile Jone while Petric Nejc of Slovakia knocked out Mpofu.
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