Bullying turned me into a boxer — Carter

Patrick Mushunje, Sports Reporter
PROFESSIONAL boxer Prince Carter claims the idea of being a boxer was highly influenced by the gruesome treatment that he was subjected to while growing up.

“The noisy boy”, as he is effectively known, said the treatment that he was given by his age mates while growing up made him a boxer because he always felt the need to defend himself.

“I grew up a victim of bullying. I was beaten a lot at primary school by my seniors and when I turned 12 I decided to man up and be like other boys by starting to practice boxing. The idea of boxing came as a self defence measure because I could not continue receiving the barbaric treatment,” he said.

He went on to say, “Boxing proved helpful to me because I managed to defend myself from a lot of bullying. I still remember that after beating three bullies at my former primary school at Air force Thornhill, I gained a lot of respect and all the bullies started to keep their distance from me.”

The boxer, who trains at ProActive Gym, says he now finds boxing as a lifestyle and cannot do without it.

“Boxing is now part of my life. I cannot go for more than an hour without thinking about it, the sport has helped me to be a tough person and above all to be disciplined because one cannot be a professional boxer without discipline.”

Asked on why he had to take a break from boxing in 2016 and initially making a return in 2018, Carter said it was because of the economic hardships that he was facing.

“I had to take a break from boxing because I was failing to get a reasonable income through the sport and the other thing is I was expecting my first child hence I had to look for other means of income which would help me and my family. I then marked my return to boxing this year after being put under pressure by my wife and Des, the owner of ProActive gym. They said they still believe in the talent that I have and that I must not give up,” he said.

Plans of opening up his own boxing club which will accommodate all boxers are underway and the boxer is calling upon all stakeholders to come and help him financially in his project which seeks to uplift the game of boxing.

Carter represented Zimbabwe four times at amateur level, has 14 medals to his name and was crowned the welterweight champion in 2012 before losing the title in 2014. He stands on two wins from two matches this year.

The boxer is happily married to Alvinah and the couple is blessed with a one-year-old son.