Masamba four wins away to IBO bout
Newly-crowned national super welterweight champion Limbani Masamba needs four more consecutive wins to automatically qualify for the International Boxing Organisation (IBO) or World Boxing Organisation (WBO)-sanctioned title bout.
For one to make the grade, one is required to earn at least six-straight wins in domestic or international fights and the 26-year-old is on track after his two technical knockout (TKO) victories, including last Monday’s seventh-round triumph over Kudakwache Banda.
This could be an opportunity for Masamba to polish up his soiled image on the international stage after he suffered a second-round defeat to Congolese boxer Mbiya Kanku during an African Boxing Union (ABU) fight at the Bingu International Conference Centre (Bicc) in Lilongwe in May.
“I will do my best to win my next four fights so as to rebuild my boxing image on the international stage,” said Masamba, whose record now stands at 19 wins (seven TKOs) and four losses.
No Pain No Gain Boxing Promotions chief executive officer Craig Rousseau said, with assistance from Zimbabwe’s Delta Force Boxing Academy, they will do their best to arrange the four bouts within the next eight months so as to make Masamba eligible for the IBO or WBO bouts before 2018.
“Since he lost the ABU bout, Limbani seems to have gained a second wind; he is on top of his game and I have never seen him this good before. We are prepared to make the necessary sacrifice to ensure he gets international limelight before the end of 2017,” Rousseau said.
According to Delta Force Boxing Academy managing director Clyde Musonda, they are already in touch with their counterparts in Zimbabwe and Zambia arranging an international non-title bout for Masamba.
On the other hand, Rousseau said they would only allow Masamba to accept Banda’s challenge for a rematch if promoters are prepared to offer at least K1.5 million purse, as Masamba, who received K250 000 in the recent super welterweight bout, is no longer a cheap boxer. n
