Editors PickNational Sports

Professional boxing board introduces sanction fees

 

Malawi Professional Boxing Control Board (MPBCB) has introduced sanction fees for boxers and promoters on local and international bouts.

According to MPBCB general secretary Frank Chibisa, effective October this year, boxers will be required to pay five percent of their take from their contracts to the local professional boxing governing body on international bouts and two percent on local fights.

boxing-ring-1024x690

He said professional boxing promoters will be paying two percent of their collection from the gates.

Chibisa said the money will be used for the body’s operations ,including administration and the purchase of professional boxing materials. He added that cuts will be taken from the boxers’ contracts because the practice of giving out winners’ prizes no longer exists in the professional ranks.

“This is standard practice everywhere. However, we are introducing sanction fees a year after our seceding from Malawi Amateur Boxing Association [Maba] because we did not want to surprise our boxers. We needed a step-by-step approach,” he said.

Newly crowned professional boxing lightweight champion Salimu Chazama welcomed the development, but said it will make sense if the money will really be used to uplift boxing standards in the country.

“If the collected funds will be used to sort out issues to do with our needs such as buying a good boxing ring and catering for our welfare in times of sickness, then, that is a great idea. But if they get the money but no improvements in sight, it will be unfortunate,” he said.

In spite of that, New Dawn Boxing Promotions director Mike Chimaliza said it could have been better if the MPBCB had first discussed the introduction of the fee with affiliates before implementing it.

“As a promoter, I have not been officially informed about the issue. I believe it could have been important to discuss the matter first. There are a lot of issues that need to be sorted out in professional boxing before we can think about the fees,” he said.

Related Articles

Back to top button