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Ntando Sibanda and Meluleki Ngulube

Sports Reporter
FAILURE to register with the Zimbabwe National Boxing Control Board has cost four Bulawayo boxers – Ntando Sibanda, Meluleki Ngulube, Martin Tshuma and Lovewll Maphosa – an opportunity to fight in Namibia tomorrow.
The pugilists belong to the Big Fish Boxing Stable and were supposed to have left at the beginning of the week.
“The board did not clear our boxers for Namibia and they are no longer going. Obviously we are disappointed because we had sent all relevant paperwork on time only for the board to let us know that our requests were not successful two days before their intended departure.

“This is a setback for our boxers because we had cancelled our local bouts to allow them to get action outside the country. Nevertheless, we are going to continue with our initiative of promoting professional boxing in the country,” said Modecai Donga of the Big Fish Boxing Stable.

Of the four boxers that were supposed to travel to Namibia was South Africa-based Sibanda, a flyweight division boxer who trains at Bronx Gym in Hillbrow, Johannesburg alongside World Boxing Federation All Africa heavyweight champion Elvis Victor Moyo.

Former Zimbabwe National Youth Games champion Ngulube, who trains at Makokoba’s Tshaka Youth Centre, was also billed to battle it out in the flyweight division with Tshuma competing in a welterweight bout while Maphosa was to fight in a bantamweight bout.

In a telephone interview from Harare, Loraine Muringi, the Zimbabwe National Boxing Control Board deputy chairperson, said the Big Fish Boxing Stable had to put its house in order and adhere to regulations.

“There were a number of irregularities in the application forms. They were supposed to send full medical records not just blood tests. International boxing regulations demand that boxers’ have brain scans which they did not provide in the medical report.

“The other thing is that we needed to get correspondence from our Namibia counterparts and the application was supposed to be accompanied by signed contracts. Even their boxers were not registered with the board. We are there to safe guard the sport and welfare of boxers.

“Imagine if we let boxers go for fights without signed contracts what will happen if the promoters there refuse to pay them? Without medical records’ proof how are we supposed to clear boxers?

“We all want boxing to flourish but things must be done above board and promoters or stables must seek clearances while there is ample time to do so,” said Muringi.