Masamba, Chiotcha in easy wins
Malawians Wilson ‘Grenade’ Masamba and Chimwemwe ‘Rhino’ Chiotcha triumphed over Tanzanians Fulaha Andengenye and Maisha Samson in non-title bouts that were full of drama.
The setting was Motel Paradise in Blantyre on Sunday.
The Malawi Defence Force (MDF) soldiers forced their opponents to early retirements in the third and fourth rounds of their eight-round bouts respectively. But what left tongues wagging were the dramatic events that characterised the fights.
Andengenye, who got into the ring about five minutes after Masamba, took off his gloves in the second round in protest to referee Andy Muyaya’s attempts to stop him from holding Masamba instead of giving out a decent fight.
Judges deducted a point from him for his action.
However, Masamba found himself on the winners list after the Tanzanian surrendered following a shoulder injury in the third round. The development did not go well with some fans.
“Why do these Tanzanian boxers give us a raw deal all the time? We pay a lot of money to watch real boxing, yet what they offer is always below our expectations,” said Central Region Boxing Committee (CRBC) chairperson Osman Daudi as some fans nodded in agreement.
Namisonga Boxing Promotions manager, Charles Nkhoma, whose body organised the fights, has declared that they will no longer arrange bouts involving Tanzanians.
“We are equally disappointed. We will now look to other countries such as Zimbabwe and Zambia for such international bouts,” said Nkhoma.
But Andengenye’s trainer, Omari Yazidu, attributed his boxer’s behaviour to ‘ring fever’, saying Andengenye was thrilled by fear of the unknown in the ring.
