Mtimaukanena to face Kenyan in IBF title bout
Malawi’s celebrated female boxer Agnes Mtimaukanena will take on Kenyan pugilist Florence Muthoni in an International Boxing Federation (IBF) Intercontinental Female Welterweight Title bout in Blantyre on July 7.
According to IBF Africa president Onesmo Ngowi, Mtimaukanena and Muthoni will be the second and third females in Africa to fight for such a title after Nigeria’s Princess Hellene Joseph, who won the IBF Intercontinental Welterweight Title on May 3 in Accra Ghana. She knocked out Hungarian Mariana Gulyas in the 28th second of their first round.
IBF is a prestigious international boxing sanctioning body based in the United States of America (USA). The IBF crowned its first female champion, Daniella Smith, in November 2010.
Wrote, Ngowi in an e-mail dated May 1 2013 to Stephen Mawenzi, managing director of Mawenzi Boxing Promotions: “The IBF has agreed to my proposal to let Agnes Mtimaukanena fight for the ‘IBF vacant Intercontinental Welterweight Title against Florence Muthoni of Kenya on July 7 2013!”
Mtimaukanena, who was recently stripped of her World Boxing Forum (WBF) belt after defending it against compatriot Happiness Nkhoma in February, said she is ready for the showdown. Mtimaukanena lost the belt due to what WBF commissioner Emmanuel Mlundwa described as the judges’ miscalculation of points.
Mawenzi told The Nation on Thursday that they are looking for a suitable venue in Blantyre for the international bout. He, however, hinted at the possibility of having it at Robin’s Park.
