Boxing board taken to task
Osgood Kayuni’s stable Zama Boxing Promotion has threatened to seek legal redress if Malawi Professional Boxing Control Board (MPBCB) “does not put its house in order to work as a professional entity.”
The stable’s legal adviser George Matipwiri said this in Blantyre on Monday when MPBCB organised a press briefing to officially reverse results of last weekend’s non-title bout between Kayuni and Wilson Masamba at Robin’s Park.
Kayuni was initially declared winner of the junior lightweight bout on split-points decision with a 75-75, 78-78 and 78-88, but the MPBCB vice-general secretary Mbachichi Nyirenda clarified that Masamba was the real winner as the judges’ scorecards registered 79-76, 79-75 and 79-78 in his favour. It is alleged that someone had initially presented wrong results to the announcer.
But Matipwiri accused the board of lacking professionalism in the handling of boxing affairs by, among other things, overturning the results in the absence of a disciplinary committee and without first calling the concerned parties to a hearing.
“We are not fighting against the change of the results, but we want to see professionalism and transparency being brought into the system. The board represents us and there is no way we can allow them to let incompetent personnel run professional boxing affairs,” he said.
He said that as affiliates, they do not have a right to appeal against issues that concern their interests because the board is yet to set an independent disciplinary committee to can handle such matters.
“For example, at present the board’s vice-general secretary was the one who gave out the decision to overturn the results in Masamba’s favour. Now, as complainants, will we get a fair trial if we appeal to the board? Apart from that, how can the board’s vice-general secretary, who also works as a referee, make decisions concerning disciplinary issues?” Matipwiri wondered.
“Such things need to change for boxing to run professionally in the country. ”
Nevertheless, MPBCB spokesperson Frank Chibisa said they have now set up the disciplinary and appeals committee which will handle the matter.
“We do not have a permanent disciplinary committee as officials to such entities are appointed in relation to cases that come up. At present, we have a number of cases that need to be rectified and Zama is free to appeal,” Chibisa said.
He also said they will call Kayuni’s manager Olusegun Kapanda to a disciplinary hearing for allegedly slapping boxing judge Lovemore Katanda during the press briefing.
On his part, Nyirenda said it is normal elsewhere for boxing administrators to double as part of the officiating panel in bouts and it is customary for a boxing governing body to reverse a decision on results. n
