THE YEAR 2013 proved to be gloomy for boxing in Bulawayo as only three tournaments were held in the amateur ranks while professional boxers were the hardest hit as no fights took place. SUKOLUHLE MTHETHWA SPORTS REPORTER
The first tournament for the year was staged in March, the second was held in June when amateur boxers were preparing for the Zimbabwe National Youth Games which were hosted in Bulawayo while the third was held on December 14 at Manor Hotel.
Bulawayo Boxing Association (BBA) secretary-general Irvine Mathe yesterday said they struggled to host tournaments this year.
“We only managed to hold three amateur boxing tournaments this year which is not enough. We are supposed to have a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 24 fights each year, but we were not able to do that because of lack of funds.
“We had to cancel seven fights because we had planned to hold 10 tournaments this year. We also failed to host the Champion of Champions boxing tournament although we had one tournament on December 14.
“We are hoping that 2014 will be better because the owner of Manor Hotel has promised to assist us by things like paying for the doctor and judges when we have tournaments. We just hope next year would be better,” he said.
