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Tadious Manyepo

Sports Reporter

TOP Zimbabwean female boxer Kudakwashe “Take Money” Chiwandire’s handlers feel the pugilist stands a chance to be awarded a rematch against World Boxing Council (WBC) super-bantamweight champion Yamileth Mercado of Mexico.

Chiwandire fell short in her bid to capture the coveted title after losing on points to Mercado in a closely-contested 10-round title fight in Chihuahua, Mexico on Sunday morning.

While there was no rematch clause on the contract signed by Chiwandire for this hefty fight, the circumstances preceding the showdown were unfavourable for the boxer and her management, Deltaforce, feel they have a firm ground to argue their case.

Chiwandire’s team endured lengthy delays as they waited for visas at the Mexican Consulate in South Africa last week.

They were initially scheduled to leave South Africa on Tuesday last week via Paris, France, but they had to be re-routed following the delays.

The three-star boxer only arrived in Mexico on the fight day and rested for barely 10 hours before she plunged into the biggest bout to ever been entered by a Zimbabwean boxer.

Deltaforce, through their director Clyde Musonda, who is also Chiwandire’s trainer, tried to push for a postponement but to no avail.

The fight promoters put them into a corner and said should the postponement be granted Deltaforce would have to chip in and share the costs of hosting the big fight.

After protracted talks and consultations, Deltaforce eventually agreed that the fight would proceed as scheduled.

Chiwandire battled hard even giving her opponent a huge scare, especially in the opening four rounds before losing the contest on points.

And Musonda believes they stand a good chance of a rematch if they submit a report to the WBC.

“Look, we are certainly writing to the WBC seeking a rematch. We endured a lot of disturbances as a team and our fighter was obviously affected in one way or the other going into this fight.

“Get me correctly, I am not trying to be a cry-baby here. We lost the fight fairly. Our boxer gave a very good account of herself in this fight. It was a close contest and even the judges’ scores confirmed that. But given what we went through prior to the fight date, we have to seek a rematch,” said Musonda.

“Of course, we wanted the fight to be postponed but the conditions were stiff and we couldn’t risk it. We talked to the boxer (Chiwandire) and she said she was ready to fight.

“But we knew there was another avenue to get a rematch. This is exactly what we are going to push for.

“Already, the authorities have a rough idea on what happened prior to the bout. They have an idea of all the hardships that we went through as we tried to make the trip to Mexico.

“But we are formally writing to them to detail what exactly transpired and we are confident our application for a rematch will be granted.” Chiwandire, who is expected back in the country today, also has an option to have another go at the WBC interim belt which is now vacant.

The former footballer relinquished the stripe after signing for a higher title fight against Mercado.

Chiwandire first won the WBC interim title in February last year when beating Zambia’s Esther Phiri before successfully defending the crown with another victory over Mexican Zulina Munoz in Harare last October.

That victory against Munoz earned her the right to challenge for the WBC gold title and according to the rules, a boxer should relinquish a lower ranking belt upon signing for a higher status crown.

But, should the rematch bid hit a brick wall, Chiwandire can still have a go at the WBC interim title which is now vacant.

“There are so many options available for Chiwandire as we speak. She is a three-and-a-half-star boxer who is qualified to challenge for world titles,” said Musonda.

“Our priority right now is to face Mercado again. But should that fail, we can choose to recapture the WBC interim belt and we are also qualified to challenge for any world title fight.

“We lost the fight of course but our status hasn’t changed a lot. After all, age is still on our side and we have the whole future to look forward to.”