The Sunday News
Lovemore Dube
FORMER wrestler Allan “Ripper” Mpofu, a keen boxing fan believes the December 21 fight between challenger Modicai Donga and internationally acclaimed Charles Manyuchi will help revive interest in local boxing.
Yesteryear greats are still talked about as if they fought yesterday yet not more than two of current national champions are known in our newsrooms because the sport is at its lowest ebb.
The sport, a former crowd puller, boasting a number of tournaments and fights staged at stadia in the early 1980s, has been crying loud for a rescue bid.
In the past fans had guts to pull down posters of their heroes and decorate their living or bedrooms with. Today none of the boxers enjoys real hero status and are quickly forgotten as soon as the ink of the papers their stories are written on dries.
A shout for legitimacy among the major sporting codes in the country and for the branding of its own real stars.
Very few people except family members have been seen to be keen to accompany their boxer sons, brothers and cousins to distances over 300km.
“This is the chance for boxing to be relevant. An opportunity for the hype that used to characterise the sport to return. We need new heroes, unfortunately Donga and Manyuchi are not new any more. But from the interest that the fight has brewed I have no doubt it could just be the tonic to determine the future of boxing,” said Mpofu.
Mpofu said local boxing has been short of great promotions.
“For years, or its running over 20 years now, we have not seen anything close to Rumble in the Jungle by Rampage Ring’s Jeff Dube. A bill with a top drawer list of boxers where fans just don’t think about expenditure but worry themselves about the entertainment value.
“I have no doubt Donga versus Manyuchi may ignite the revival of the sport in Zimbabwe. Already there is interest in the tournament. I will be driving to Harare with over 20 friends from Bulawayo. My hopes are that after the event the excitement will renew interest in the game,” said Mpofu.
The former national top ranked wrestler who was involved in bills that brought the Bushwhackers to Zimbabwe and Ultimate Chipandale, said there were few matchings in boxing that come close to this one.
He mentioned the Sipho Moyo and Arigoma Chiponda clash at New Windermere as having been among the top billings.
“The mere fact that the two were paired by matchmakers ensured a full house came out to watch. They were the best in their division and fans wanted to see who was king. It was a great contest of two of the hardest punchers in the land,” said Mpofu.
He also spoke of the Hastings Rasani fight against Ambrose Mlilo of 26 February 1999. The fight had two of the country’s leading promoters Stalin Mau Mau (Hasani) and Dube (Rampage Ring) parading their wares in the form of the two boxers.
Rasani, a stylish well cut young boxer, was coming up against Mlilo, a boxer who had a few years earlier fought and withstood a barrage of blows to lose narrowly to John The Beast Mugabe in Australia and lost also to Tony Walters in a Commonwealth title contest. Rasani dominated the proceedings but for lack of experience he would succumb to a barrage of blows in the ninth round to lose what had been billed as a 12 round thriller.
Kid Power and Kilimanjaro were also some of the exciting pairings that took place in the past and had fans eating out of their palms.
Donga’s last fight in Zimbabwe was coincidentally against Manyuchi. He lost on a points decision in a light middleweight contest.
Donga had inherited the middleweight division crown from Ambrose Mlilo in 2004. It was a fight Reynolds Inn (now Stay Afrique) and Blow by Blow Promotions broke the bank vault to make it happen. Mlilo had asked for a big figure and the promoters concurred it would have to be his retirement package and Donga needed to beat him to end his career.
True to that expectation Donga beat the champion in a fight Mlilo would live to love to forget as he had to go on his knees to ask the referee to stop the fight.
Mlilo had for years from his amateur days dominated the middleweights.
Mpofu says in the top matchings ever there has to be Mlilo against Nightshow Mafukidze of Masvingo.
“You got your money’s worth when the two fought. Nightshow would despite a long reach disadvantage continue coming at you and Mlilo would give as much as he got in clean boxing fights,” said Mpofu.
In 2005 Paul Masakhe Sibanda made a loud attempt to renew boxing’s legitimacy with a top billing tournament at Bulawayo Hotel School pitting two heavyweight champions Thamsanqa Dube of Zimbabwe and Zambia’s Ramos Phiri.
Heavyweight boxers always carry the flag of any country. Television and sponsors are after them but middleweights like welter and lightweight have also been seen to bring some sparkle on to the scene.
Boxers like Kilimanjaro and Langton Schoolboy Tinago were so big that they were able to attract decent thousands at Barbourfields and Rufaro, stadia popular for football. Boxing then attracted a top billing.
Boxing was so popular that some top boxers would advertise products such as Kel77 bath soap because they were brands with a huge following.
Ringo Star, Jiwa Majarine, Richard Rova, Jimmy Ellis, Ndaba Dube, Duke Chinyadza, Morris Chiwawula, Joyful Mahlangu, Nokuthula Tshabangu, Farai Master, Tony Bollo Benson, Amasa Nhenjana and Trust Ndlovu are some of the biggest names that made boxing an exciting sport that drew crowds in Zimbabwe.
