Staff reporter
…as she becomes the first local boxer to win the belt
Kudakwashe Chiwandire became the first female Zimbabwean boxer to win the World Boxing Council (WBC) Interim Championship Belt.
Speaking during the welcome reception for Chiwandire yesterday, Deputy Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Honourable Tinoda Machakaire yesterday said, “It is my pleasure to address this gathering as we celebrate the Kudakwashe Chiwandire`s victory in the World Boxing Council Interim Super Bantam Weight Title Fight against Catherine Phiri of Zambia on the 26th of February 2022 at the Government Complex in Lusaka, Zambia.”
Machakaire said that Chiwandire`s victory was a significant milestone in the history of boxing in Zimbabwe as she becomes the first Zimbabwean Boxer and first female boxer to win the World Boxing Council Interim Championship Belt for the Super Bantum Weight Championship.
The Minister reiterated that he was informed by the Zimbabwe National Boxing and Wrestling Control Board that WBC is one of the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association and is rated the top most global boxing sanctioning board adding that it now meant that “Take Money” (Chiwandire’s nickname), is now eligible to fight the world`s best boxer for the Gold Belt.
Machakaire said that the victory of Machakaire signaled the defiant spirit of the many women and girls in Zimbabwe.
“Kudakwashe`s victory also signals the defiant spirit of the many women and girls in Zimbabwe. It has been the Ministry`s observation that the retention of females in sport from adolescence to adulthood remains a challenge within the country.
“This discontinuity in terms of participation by women in sport particularly combat sport such as Boxing has largely been attributed to the architecture of community-level sport and its failure to accommodate women in its entire hierarchy due to cultural reservations.”
Machakaire enunciated to the women present that the journey to equal treatment, recognition and acceptance by society is continual and a day gone without a fight is a loss to everyone.
The success of Machakaire is in line with the National Development Strategy (NDS) 1 Goal of facilitating an increase in Women participation in the economy across all sectors.
