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| Tawanda Zishiri of D1 Masvingo Boxing Academy (left) and Tinashe Zihove (red top) |
Clayton Shereni
25-year-old
Masvingo boxer, Tinashe Zihove, is billed to travel to Namibia on March 20, where
he is targeting to get nothing but a win in his second visit to the country
where he had a disappointing first time experience.
Father,
as Zihove is popularly known in boxing circles, had a night to forget during
his first trip to Namibia after he was quickly dismissed by the experienced and
no nonsense boxer, Paulinus Ndjolonimus.
The
middle weight fighter had a horror experience as he was knocked out in the
first round but this time around is out to restore his lost legacy.
In
an interview with TellZim News, Zihove promised to restore the lost legacy and
said he will fight his heart out to make his fans happy.
“The
last time I was in Namibia but things didn’t go as we had projected and I ended
up losing. This time I am going there with a lion’s heart, I was training hard
and I am sure at the end of the fight my fans will have something to smile
about. I will do everything to try and knock out my opponent,” said Zihove.
Zihove,
who is yet to know his opponent for the upcoming fight, is part of an ambitious
D1 Masvingo Boxing Academy which is home to five professional and four amateur
boxers.
A
Karateka by profession, Zihove traded Karate for boxing in 2015, and since
turning professional has won two fights and lost three.
The
boxer also has a brother, Trust who is also a professional welterweight boxer
and has been doing well in his boxing career.
His
handler, Tawanda Zishiri of D1 Masvingo Boxing Academy said he was impressed by
the boxer’s level of fitness and confidence but said they still have a long way
to go in the nurturing and training of boxers in the province.
“The
boxer is bubbling in confidence and is raring to go. It is very hard for the
academy to operate without the help of the corporate world and other private
players but we hope one day they will come on board. We get help from people
who hail from Harare yet our very own fail to recognize that we have vast
talent in the province,” said Zishiri.
Zishiri
said that the Academy had received offers from other
boxing companies who want to host boxing matches in Masvingo but financial
constraints have stalled this development.
“Offers
for us to host a boxing galore have been tabled but we are strained financially
and we appeal to those who might be interested in partnering us to come
forward. We have to give a platform to our own talented youths for them to
prove that it is possible to rise from the ghetto and be a superstar,” said
Zishiri.
The
academy has been working in conjunction with popular boxing promoter Clyde
Musonda and Charles Manyuchi Boxing Academy which handles Masvingo’s boxing
champion, Brendon Denes.
Masvingo
has been a hub of talented boxers who have conquered across Africa and the
world at large.
Charles
Manyuchi and Brendon ‘Boyka’ Denes are some of the established boxers who have
rose from Masvingo to conquer internationally.
