WORLD Boxing Council (WBC) Super bantamweight interim champion Kuda ‘‘Take Money’’ Chiwandire’s recent exploits have seen her make a massive leap on the ratings to be ranked sixth in the world.
Chiwandire benefited immensely when she retained her WBC interim title via a unanimous decision, against the highly-rated Zulina Munoz of Mexico at the Harare International Conference Centre last month.
The 27-year-old went into her fight against Munoz with a modest 5-2-1 record and ranked lower than 40, but her latest rating on boxrec, the internationally-acclaimed boxing database, she is now sixth in the world and only second on WBC ratings in her division behind Mexican Yamileth Mercado.
Interestingly, Chiwandire will face Mercado for the gold belt at a date to be announced. Mercado made a successful defence of her title for the fourth time by overcoming Mariana Juarez by a unanimous decision victory this past weekend.
Chiwandire’s manager Clyde Musonda, of Delta Force Boxing Academy, who also doubles as her trainer, is delighted about his boxer’s rapid progress.
“This girl is the future of Zimbabwean boxing and I’m extremely excited,” Musonda told the Daily News yesterday.
“Her talent is testimony that the country’s future in terms of boxing is bright. We will continue to make a positive mark on the international boxing arena. She is focused, very hardworking and the fact that she continues to fight tough opponents can only do her world ratings good.
“These ratings are very encouraging. It shows we are heading somewhere. It’s every boxer’s dream to become a world champion. And when we are having a boxer in top six, it’s a huge achievement. It means a lot and I hope this will inspire her to even work harder going forward.”
Musonda said he has already started working on a roadmap to Chiwandire’s next fight for the gold title and is currently in Namibia, where he is tying up some partnerships.
“I’m trying to talk to my Namibian guys so that we can have a strong technical team. Everything that I have done I’ve been learning from these guys as well as from my other friends in South Africa,” he said.
“Some of these guys like Nestor Tobias have produced world and African champions.
“So, I’m sitting down with him here in Namibia and from here I’m heading to SA.
“The thing is in Zimbabwe we don’t have gyms specifically for boxing and it’s something that I want to secure from outside.
“In Africa, we don’t really get opportunities to fight for WBC gold titles and we want to make this huge.
“Remember, Kuda is representing Africa so it’s only wise to work together so that we bring the best out of her.”
Musonda also revealed that Chiwandire has already started preparing for her fight against Mercado whose date is yet to be announced.
“She has already started training but not full throttle as yet. I’m now working on her programme to follow until the fight.
“Mercado is a world champion and we need to make sure she trains twice as hard if we are to defeat her,” said Musond
