Chilemba fears for professional boxing

Malawi’s revered light heavyweight boxer Isaac ‘Golden Boy’ Chilemba fears the recruitment of the country’s top-notch boxers by the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) has the potential to affect their boxing careers.

He was reacting to the move by four local top boxers Osgood Kayuni, Wilson Masamba, Chimwemwe Chiotcha and Chrispin Moliati’s recruitment into the army.

Chilemba who revels in the glory of being one of the best pugilists the country has ever produced, said while it is good for their future, professional boxing will be affected to a larger extent.

“It is good that they have secured jobs because they will be self-reliant even after hanging up their gloves.

“But then my concern is that they will not be able to fight at professional level as regularly as they might have wished because they will be confined to their jobs.

“Apart from that, they will need special clearance from their employers for them to fight local and international bouts alike, and we are talking about four of the country’s top boxers,” Chilemba said.

However, the celebrated boxer said he understood their situation because local boxing is not lucrative.

While agreeing with Chilemba, National Professional Boxing Committee (NPBC) chairperson Lonzoe Defector-Zimba said the boxers need to make hay while the sun shines.

“Of course, there will be a problem to get them cleared for the bouts unlike in the past as they will have to seek clearance every time they want to fight, but they also need to prepare for their future.

“Hopefully, MDF will allow the boxers to fight even on the international stage,” Zimba said.