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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
A decade ago, Thamsanqa Dube was a Zimbabwean boxing doyen, with a World Boxing Association (WBA) Pan-Africa Heavyweight title in his possession and looked set to scale the heights in the sport that draws millions of followers across the globe.

In 2009, the Bulawayo born heavyweight pugilist, whose intimidating huge frame made it difficult to ignore him, saw his ratings rising after pulling a great act to knock out South African Jake Els and in the process claim the WBA Pan-Africa heavyweight title.

As a 26-year-old, that was the break the Pumula East-bred pugilist needed as he went into that April 2, 2009, fight with the underdog tag, the odds at 40/1.

Dube, popularly known as Thamzoya or Mzoya, defied the odds and having announced his arrival on the big stage, he failed to explode and struggled to get challengers for the continental belt.

To keep active and enhance his chances of getting international fights, Dube fought Arigoma Chiponda on December 4, 2010, and June 3, 2011, winning both bills.

Having spent so much time without a competitive fight, the Bulawayo boxer got a call on short notice to fight Flo Simba in August 2011.

Desperate for relevance, an ill-prepared Dube took up the challenge and did intensive training for less than two weeks before the fight.

Accepting the fight against Simba was the “worst decision” that Dube made, according to his former gym mate Elvis “Bulawayo Bomber” Moyo, who sparred with Mzoya a week before the bill in Johannesburg.

Simba floored Dube in just under a minute.

“When I sparred with him while preparing for the fight against Flo Simba, I told him he was not prepared and he said ‘Champ, I’m not ready’.

“He told me things were bad and he had to take up the fight because for the purse (money). I understood him because there are times when you have to take a risk, knowing you’re not well prepared, but you trust yourself as a boxer that you can lend a punch and win. He took that risk, and it didn’t go well and that was the beginning of the downhill of his career, as he only sparred for less than a week for the Flo Simba bill,” said Moyo.

After the Simba bill, Dube struggled for a comeback.

In 2013, he came out of a two-year sabbatical and reunited with renowned trainer Philip “Striker” Ndlovu, who trained him at Makokoba’s Tshaka Youth Centre in preparation for the 2009 WBA Pan-Africa victory.

The loss to Simba had forced Dube to take a break from boxing after knocking him out in 2011.

By his confession, Dube said Simba injured him.

“I have been out of the picture for a while since my fight with Simba. That guy punched me so hard and I learnt the hard way not to accept a fight at short notice unprepared because I got injured. I have been hitting the punch bag for a while and I now want to hit a person,” said Dube.

“Whoever thinks that by losing to Simba I’m down and out should think again because I still have 12 more years of fighting. I want to be the undisputed champion and I am ready to face anyone, anywhere. I am training very hard to get into shape,” said Dube back then.

However, Dube has only had one fight since 2013 against Shafik Kiwanuka in Uganda in November last year in which he lasted 10 rounds and lost on points.

That gave Dube hope to return to the ring and he still believes he can turn around his fortunes.

But how will he turn his fortunes around, as he has been spending little time in the gym.

At some stage, Dube was a club bouncer and transport operators plying the Pumula-town route also sought his services to lead a crew that blocked pirate operators from their route.

He also has a brick moulding project at the family’s plot in Hyde Park.

“A man has to do something to make sure that the family is catered for,” said Dube.

“I must admit things haven’t been rosy, but I’m surviving. I’m not lost to boxing, I showed what I’m capable of in Uganda and Mzoya is here to stay. I’m a champion and will always be a champion. When all is well, I hope to get some fights.”

His journey to revival has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Last year, Dube signed up with True Ndachi Promotions which facilitated his fight against Kiwanuka.

The stable had hoped the pugilist would have at least two bills in 2020.

The Bulawayo Bomber believes lack of funding heavily affected his former Tshaka Youth Centre partner.

“When he won that WBA title, that was the craziest time for our Tshaka stable because Striker and I had managed to form a formidable team. I remember I watched that Dube/Els fight at a sports bar in Mganwini. I was happy that he won because I helped him train. We gave him sparring sessions at least three times a week in preparation for that fight.

“The saddest thing is that limited support came to boxing. At that time, Thamu was well prepared and had stable support from Baker’s Inn and when we travelled, La Gondola bar assisted us. Lovemore Dube (former Chronicle Sports Editor) facilitated for those sponsorship deals.

“With that kind of help, it made a sportsman’s life easy. And when Thamu couldn’t get that support and failed to get work to supplement what he had, he was forced to look for other jobs to fend for his family and that kept him out of the gym. That was the start of his downfall because one can’t go and train on an empty stomach while his family has nothing,” said Moyo.

“As a boxer, Thamu had a chance to go big because he is a raw heavyweight, which means with his body he’s supposed to suffer two or so defeats against hard punchers with good timing. He was going to be a star. We spoke when I was in Harare for the Kwese fights, we spoke about him coming back and I’m happy he fought in Uganda even though it was an unsanctioned fight. I told him my reservations about fights that are not recognised by Boxrec because they are not recorded, meaning that he is still considered inactive on his ratings. If you’re inactive, it becomes difficult to get fights.

“To survive now Thamu has to take up fights against lowly ranked boxers that want points and he has to take whatever job that comes his way. If he doesn’t go to the gym because he’s hustling, it means Thamu is finished as a boxer.”

Lovemore Dube said Thamsanqa’s rise to stardom was affected by a bad decision the boxer took when he chose to go to Cape Town for a year at a time his stable, Bow by Blow Promotions, was on the verge of sealing deals for him after the Els victory.

“Thamsanqa Dube was a promising talent, he was a southpaw boxer, using his left hand to jab. Renowned African boxing promotions Gurus of SA Golden Gloves likened his style to that of the legendary Larry Holmes. He had a powerful left jab that often left his opponents bloodied because of its power. After knocking out Jack Ellis in 2009 for the Africa WBA heavyweight crown, his road to world acclaim should have taken off as his management got him a sponsor with Baker’s Inn and that of his training partner Elvis Moyo and coach Phillip Striker.

“Thamsanqa suffered for breaking a gentleman’s verbal agreement with his management Blow by Blow Promotions and trainer, dumping them for some unknown Epworth woman based in Cape Town. After almost a year stranded in SA with no activity, Dube returned home in 2010 overweight and distraught. It then killed his vibe as he continued to balloon and even in his fights against Chiponda and Simba in 2012 he showed that he no longer was the same pugilist. Instead of picking up from the Simba loss, Dube appeared to lose interest in the sport and economic factors saw him bouncing at nightclubs and selling tyres by day.

“This entailed more travel to Botswana and South Africa and less time in the gym,” said Lovemore Dube.

He said a fit Thamsanqa could have made it into the world’s top 50 with better guidance.

Despite the setbacks, Thamsanqa still believes he can still reclaim his lost glory.

“I’ll be back,” he said. — @ZililoR