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Leonard Ncube in Victoria Falls 

VICE President Costantino Chiwenga will this morning officiate at the international boxing seminar being held in Victoria Falls. 

The World Boxing Council (WBC) All-Africa Officials Training and Grading Workshop and Africa Boxing Union (ABU) Convention is currently underway in Zimbabwe’s resort city and about 100 ring officials, judges and referee trainees, who were trained over two days, will also receive certificates at the official opening if they make the grade. They wrote examinations yesterday. 

WBC facilitators Kevin Noone and David van de Wiele conducted the training. 

Today will also see Zimbabwean WIBA International champion Monalisa Sibanda defending her title against Ugandan challenger Small Valente Aciro after the two boxers weighed in yesterday. 

The chief director in the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, Benson Martins Dube said the WBC All-Africa Officials Training and Grading Workshop and ABU convention have put Zimbabwe on the world boxing map. 

“The ring officials have been trained including the judges and the referees and certification is going to be done tomorrow (today). 

“We are happy that so far most of our own Zimbabwean officials are doing very well and that on its own puts Zimbabwe on the boxing map as we are now going to be having Zimbabweans officiating at national and international boxing tournaments,” said Dube. 

He said some of the trainees will officiate today at some of the bouts. 

“This means they are getting their first employment tomorrow. As Zimbabwe we are very grateful to ABU for affording us this grand opportunity to host such an important conference. This is the first of its kind and thumbs up to the Zimbabwe National Boxing and Wrestling Control Board (ZNBWCB) for spearheading this event. 

“The official opening is tomorrow morning (today) and will be done by Vice President, General (Rtd) Dr Costantino Chiwenga and will also be graced by the Minister of Youth Sport, Arts and Recreation Dr Kirsty Coventry and her deputy Tino Machakaire,” he said.

Commenting on the training workshop, Noone said WBC was proud about the expansion of boxing in Zimbabwe and Africa.

“The whole purpose of this ring officials seminar was to educate people who are new to the sport of boxing and use the minds of eminent people like van de Wiele to educate them so that they can go back and spread the education throughout the whole ecosystem of boxing in Africa.”

He said the training sessions were very impressive and engaging.

“We are very impressed with the level of engagement and enthusiasm which is valuable and very important. This evening we will spend time going through the examination papers because we are not just handing out certificates,” he added. 

Meanwhile, Monalisa’s coach Simon Sankulani said the boxer is aiming for a knock-out.

“She has been preparing since the day she took the title because she knew the belt would be defended. She is a hungry lioness and I can see even the change in her eyes. She knows what she is facing. Our game plan is to go for a knock out and we just hope the match comes earlier so that she doesn’t become impatient,” said Sankulani.