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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE will this week play host to two international boxing tournaments, with Harare staging a professional international title bout on Friday night, while Bulawayo stages an amateur event.

World Boxing Federation (WBF) All-Africa heavyweight champion Elvis Moyo will exchange blows with Ukrainian Maksym Pedyura in an international title bill dubbed “Kubatana” on Friday at the Harare City Sports Centre. This will be Moyo’s second fight of the year, having defended his title against Congolese Kilola Lubika Didier in January.

Zimbabwe’s amateur boxers will converge at Sizinda South Beer Garden, the adopted home of boxing in Bulawayo, for a tournament hosted by the Zimbabwe National Army in partnership with the proprietors.

At least 60 boxers are expected to turn up at the Sizinda South Beer Garden tournament.

Stephen Masiyambumbi, the country’s amateur boxing technical director, said Botswana will be sending a youth team to the amateur event.

He said Zimbabwe will also use the competition to prepare for next month’s Youth Olympics Qualifiers to be held in Morocco.

“We are excited about the upcoming national tournament hosted by the Zimbabwe National Army in partnership with Sizinda South Beer Garden. We expect the country’s 10 provinces as well as the ZNA School of Sports to send their boxers as we are using this tournament to identify boxers for national teams,” said Masiyambumbi.

“We will also have a friendly tournament against Botswana, who are bringing their youth team to assess their progression as they prepare for the Africa Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 5 Games that they will host in December. They (Botswana) have also invited us for a tournament to be held in July,” he said.

Some of Zimbabwe’s boxers in the Youth Olympics Qualifiers bound squad expected to trade leather at Sizinda are Prosperous Basket, Bukhosi Mabunda, Adneta Mabeza, Mighty Kudzotsa, Wayne Muchabaiwa, Knowledge Maniku, Ndabezinhle Phiri and beaven Sibanda.

Boxers for the Youth Olympics Qualifiers are aged between 17 and 18 years. Masiyambumbi appealed for support from the corporate world.

@ZililoR