Zimpapers Logo

LONG-SERVING Zimbabwe amateur boxing administrator and coach Petros Masiyambumbi has died. He died yesterday morning at the United Bulawayo Hospitals aged 54 years.

His son Arnold said: “My father succumbed to kidney failure. He has not been well for about two months and his condition deteriorated on Monday that is when we rushed him to the hospital.”

Mourners are gathered at 656 Nketa 6 in Bulawayo and funeral arrangements are being finalised.

The Sport and Recreation Commission expressed sorrow at the death of the seasoned boxing trainer.

“It’s with a very heavy heart that we learnt of the death of Petros Masiyambumbi, the Zimbabwe Boxing Association technical director this morning. Petros had not been well since the beginning of the year and he had been in and out of hospital but we were all convinced that he was going to be well but sadly that was not to be,” said SRC director-general Nhemachena.

Masiyambumbi groomed a lot of boxers when he worked with them as amateurs especially at the Zimbabwe National Army boxing club.

Pugilists like Clyde Musonda, Anyhwere Gatsi, Shinga Tom and Victor Masunga and even his son Stephen Masiyambumbi worked with the renowned trainer in their formative years.

“This is not a sad loss only to his dear wife and children and the boxing community which he diligently served, but also to the entire sporting family.

“Petros will be remembered as a dedicated sport practitioner who would go out of his way to sacrifice for his beloved sport of boxing.

“His contributions to some of the programmes we undertook with him like the National Youth Games remain immeasurable and invaluable,” said Nhemachena.

Masiyambumbi’s last major involvement with boxing was when he worked with the boxing squad at African Union Region Five Under-20 Games in Bulawayo last year before he was forced to take a back seat because of poor health.

“He was the boxing team manager and helped them to win five medals and our hope was that he was going to continue with the work at the African Games in Congo-Brazzaville but sadly this was not to be.

“On behalf of the Sports Commission, we would like to express our heartfelt condolences to the Masiyambumbi family and the boxing community on the sad loss of a dedicated cadre who was always willing to go beyond the call of duty,” said Nhemachena.

Musonda said he owes most of the things he now knows in boxing to Masiyambumbi.

“I started working with him a junior boxer in 1989. He was a coach at the army school of sports and I was still a civilian then.

“It was Masiyambumbi who helped me to secure employment with army in 1997 and until I resigned in 2008.

“We worked together at the army school of sports and he was my trainer when he went for the army games in Tunisia, the Commonwealth Games in Malaysia.

“Later he groomed me to be a coach, judge and referee and now I owe a lot to his training,” said Musonda, who now runs Delta Force Boxing Stable.

Another boxing trainer, Issa Phiri of Hard Rock said the death of Masiyambumbi has robbed the sport of a dedicated personality.

“I’m a coach for professional boxers but we have been interacting with Masiyambumbi over the years.

“He is one person who has been in boxing for some time and his knowledge of the sport was invaluable.

“I closely worked with him when I was the national team assistant coach in 2002 and 2003 and he was the head coach,” said Phiri.

Former Zimbabwe Boxing Control board secretary Patrick Mukondiwa said local boxing will never be the same without Masiyambumbi.

“He had his bias towards amateur boxers and we always argued that he was supposed to let the good boxers graduate as pros.

“Petros loved boxing and did all he could to develop the sport,” said Mukondiwa.

He is survived by his wife Sihlengani and 10 children. — sportszone.