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Gilbert Munetsi

CHAMPION boxer-turned-promoter Charles Manyuchi has decided to move his boxing academy and promotion entity to Zambia.

He told Zimpapers Sports, in an exclusive interview yesterday, that the decision to relocate has been prompted by what he feels are astronomical fees local promoters are having to pay which he said made it difficult, if not impossible, to recoup investments from events.

“The boxing environment in Zimbabwe is not conducive due to the gazetted fees that are way too high to sustain promotions. There is nothing we can do about it because they have been set and ratified by a higher authority which is the Ministry of Sport, Art, Culture and Recreation.

“When, as a promoter, one looks at the benefit they would have derived from hosting a boxing tournament, there is virtually none because, at the end of it all, there is no financial reward to talk about. It’s as good as doing charity work.

“So given the current state of things, I do not anticipate putting up any tournaments in Zimbabwe in the foreseeable future because it is expensive to do so,” he said on the phone from Lusaka.

While he could not be drawn into revealing his immediate plans, this publication has it on good authority that Manyuchi has applied for and been granted an academy licence, promoter and manager licences, and licences for all his boxers from Zimbabwe as well as two Zambians, who have since joined his stable.

The Zambian duo comprises Simon Ngoma and Alice Mbewe, both formerly with Exodus Boxing.

According to receipts issued by the Zambia Professional Boxing and Wrestling Control Board, he paid a total of K1 200, which equates to US$46.

For one to host a boxing event in Zambia, they are required to pay the equivalent of US$30, hire a boxing ring for US$25, and pay referees and judges US$40 each. Boxers enjoy a zero percent levy on their purses.

Meanwhile, in Zimbabwe the licence for a promoter is pegged at US$250; international tournament sanction fee stands at US$275. It costs around US$300 to hire a boxing ring; referees and judges require between US$80-$100 while the boxing control board is mandated to deduct 10 percent of a boxer’s earnings from each match.

Manyuchi, whose greater part of his professional boxing career can be traced to Zambia where he fought under the Oriental Quarries Boxing Promotions stable, could find it easy to settle down as the northern country had become a second home to him.

Back home in Zimbabwe, the Charles Manyuchi Boxing Academy, which also operated a promotion unit under its banner, had added great value to the sport by hosting several professional boxing events that were decentralised to various parts of the country, among them Chivhu, Masvingo, and Harare.

And because of its existence, PhilJen Country Lodges in Chivhu had become a home of boxing in Mashonaland East province, and in Masvingo, the CMBA once put up a one-bout tournament during the Covid-19 era in which Manyuchi fought Mohamad Sebyala for the WBF/WABA unification titles. A total of four events were also held at the Harare International Conference Centre with the Manyuchi headlining all of them.

In a related development, Manyuchi has just finished penning his autobiography, “The makings of a Champion”, whose launch ceremony he revealed is around the corner.

The literary piece of work seeks to package the legacy of the ace pugilist, whose exploits took him to the international ring where he, at one time, was rated the 10th best welterweight in the world.

“The sun is about to set on my boxing career and it’s only proper that I share my experiences with aspiring boxers as a way to motivate them so they, too, can see the need to make use of their God-given talents in the same manner that I did.

“Of course, the name Charles Manyuchi came at a premium, but the success story could not have been penned without the support I got from various sectors of society that include family, sup-porters, handlers, fellow boxers, Zimbabwe and Zambia, so the book also serves as a form of gratitude to all these for the assistance they rendered,” he said.