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Tadious Manyepo

Sports Reporter

TOP Zimbabwean female boxer Kudakwashe “Take Money” Chiwandire was yesterday still holed up in South Africa with under 48 hours left before her scheduled World Boxing Council (WBC) super bantam-weight fight against Yamileth Mercado in Chihuahua, Mexico on Saturday.

The 27-year-old pugilist finally got her visa at around 3pm yesterday to travel to the North American country after continuous delays due to logistical issues.

The Mexican Consulate in Pretoria had asked Chiwandire’s camp, that also includes her trainer/manager Clyde Musonda, to wait until some documents had been resent from the fight promoter in Mexico.

She was supposed to have travelled via Paris, France, on Tuesday but her camp had to wait for the visas to be processed.

With the travel approval only issued to them late in the afternoon yesterday, Chiwandire’s manager Musonda revealed they would be forced to seek postponement of the fight.

As things stand, it is now practically impossible for the bout to take place on Saturday. Should Chiwandire leave South Africa today, she will only be able to reach Mexico late tomorrow and that will be well after the scheduled weigh-in procedures.

She will also have no time to acclimatize nor to have a proper rest period.

In any case the contract she signed with the Mexican promoters states that she would be afforded at least six days to adapt to that country’s weather conditions before she enters the ring.

And Musonda hinted that their stable, Deltaforce Academy, is already considering seeking a postponement.

“As things stand, we are still waiting on them to provide us with the way forward. We are happy we now have our visas with us as a team. This is something (visa processing) that was supposed to have been done a long time ago. “But the promoter failed to send us the required documents in time. When they sent the documents, they were all rejected. The ones which have been accepted were only sent at around 1am today (yesterday),” said Musonda.

“So if the fight is to be rescheduled, it means we will have to go back to the contract which states that we should be in Mexico at least six days before the fight.

“We are still waiting on them (Mexican promoters) to furnish us with the travel details so that we know what’s our next move.

“We are ready for this fight and we will be able to give any update about this bout once those guys from Mexico communicate.”

However, with WBC also flexible on their terms, the fight can be pushed by a further week or more given Chiwandire’s visa runs up to September.

The logistical challenges have not affected Chiwandire though with the WBC interim champion optimistic she will pull through.

“It’s just any other disturbance which one can expect. I am a combat sportsperson and my mind is not that weak. Depending on what would be agreed upon, I am very much ready to face my opponent,” she said.

“Whatever happens, happens for a reason and I am not worried. At the end of the day, the fight has to take place and I am prepared for it.

“I have set camp in South Africa and training is going on well despite the challenges. So when I arrive in Mexico, I obviously mean business.”

Chiwandire is the first ever Zimbabwean to fight for a WBC gold belt and the whole nation will be looking forward to the fight.

The closest Zimbabwean fighters have come closer to this hefty title was when Charles Manyuchi contested for the WBC silver welterweight title which he won before losing it in 2017.

Chiwandire earned the right to challenge for the WBC gold title after she successfully defended the WBC interim belt against another Mexican fighter Zulina Munoz last year.