Chilemba wins it
South Africa-based Malawian light-heavyweight boxer Isaac ‘Golden Boy’ Chilemba on Sunday beat Tanzanian Mbaruku Kheri by technical knockout in round two of the 10-round non-title bout at Caurosel Cassino in Limpopo, South Africa.
The former World Boxing Council (WBC) light-heavyweight champion was fighting in South Africa for the first time in 11 years when he faced the Tanzanian.
Speaking in an interview yesterday, Chilemba said he wanted to win to impress his fans on his return to the Rainbow Nation.
He said: “It was good. I knew he had nothing on me. I wanted to get rid of him in the first round, but I decided to enjoy the round and stop him in the second. Losing this fight was not an option. I had to impress my fans.
“Fighting on home soil after a very long time brings good feelings to me. I am now focusing ahead. Next month, I am going to Poland for another fight. I promise my fans that I will maintain my good record.”
Malawi Professional Boxing Control Board president Lonzoe Zimba said Chilemba is still a good boxer.
“As I said earlier, his recent poor form was due to trauma because he was having differences with his manager, otherwise, he is still a good boxer and can bring more positive results more than before,” he said.
His Tanzanian opponent Kheri, 39, has 18 wins, including 15 knockouts and 10 defeats.
Boxing analyst Mussa Ajibu said fighting in South Africa gave Chilemba home advantage because he had good sparring partners.
“I am not surprised that he has won. He had an advantage fighting in South Africa. It was easy for him to win,”he said.
In another bout, Malawian boxer Limbano Lano lost to South Africa’s former IBO world champion Thomas Osthuizeni in another 10-round light heavy-weight non-title bout after retiring in round six.
In an interview, Lano said he could not proceed because he suffered an injury in his left hand.
“I could not continue the fight but because of the injury, I saw that it was better for me to retire because there is always next time,” he said.
Recently, Chilemba announced his intention to retire from the sport, a decision that many boxing enthusiasts did not support.
