Manyuchi chickens out of Chiotcha bout

In a rather theatrical development, Zimbabwean welterweight champion Charles Manyuchi on Friday chickened out of the much-hyped catchweight non-title professional bout against Chimwemwe ‘Chipembere’ Chiotcha that was scheduled for this afternoon at BAT ground in Blantyre.

According to our sources, the Zimbabwean boxer quietly left the country by road on Friday evening through Mchinji border in the company of his Zambian manager and promoter Chris Malunga as well as his trainer Mike Zulu.

Promoter of the fight Mike ‘Bangwe 1’ Chitenje and Professional Boxing Control Board (PBCB) head Lonzoe Defector-Zimba confirmed that the bout is not on following Manyuchi’s controversial departure.

Doubts over the bout started showing on Friday when Manyuchi and his management team demanded a review of the package on offer from $500 [about K172 000] to $1 000 [about K344 000].

Chitenje confirmed that he was forced to consent to Manyuchi’s demand to review the package.

“I had to run around to top up the offer and later on [on Friday afternoon] we informed Manyuchi’s manager that we were ready with the money and they said they would collect it at the weigh-in. Then later on, they started demanding a refund of their travel costs. That is when I got suspicious of their conduct.

“Then this morning, I got a call from someone in Lilongwe that he had seen Manyuchi and his team checking out through Chipata. I then took up the issue with PBCB chairperson [Zimba].

“I am very disappointed with what he [Manyuchi] has done considering the resources I spent on organising the fight. I am talking about hiring the venue, accommodation and other logistics such as security, transporting bout officials and hiring a ring. A professional boxer of his calibre is not supposed to behave in such a manner,” said Chitenje.

The local promoter also said he will lodge a complaint to the Zambia Professional Boxing Control Board [where Manyuchi is registered] through PBCB.

Zimba also expressed disappointment with Manyuchi’s dramatic U-turn.

“My personal feeling is that he was not confident of himself because he has an ABU [Africa Boxing Union] title bout in Burkina Fasso later next month and as per rules, had he lost to Chiotcha he would not have been eligible for the title bout, that is my suspicion,” said Zimba.

Neither the boxer nor his promoter could be reached for comment on Saturday.