. Phiri

By JOWIT SALUSEKI –
CATHERINE Phiri’s World Boxing Council (WBC) silver bantamweight fight against South African Bukiwe Noniwe yesterday received a major boost after Zamtel donated a cheque of K250,000 to Oriental Quarries Boxing Promotion (OQBP).
Zamtel marketing manager Kennedy Mambwe said during a press briefing at Southern Sun Hotel that his firm was proud to be the platinum sponsor of the fight billed for November 22 because OQBP has proved capable of attracting boxers from other countries.
“Outside football, it’s only Oriental Quarries Boxing Promotion who have attracted foreign talent from Zimbabwe and DR Congo. Therefore, it is interesting for us as a brand to promote boxing by forging a long time partnership with the boxing stable,” Mambwe said.
Mambwe said that sports raises the Zambian flag and with Zamtel being an indigenous company, it was imperative that it partnered with another local firm whose aim is to raise boxing standards in the country.
He was optimistic that the K250, 000 that Zamtel donated towards Catherine’s fight was going to help the stable in offsetting its K673, 000 budget.
OQBP manager Christopher Malunga assured sponsors and boxing fans that Catherine was ready to defend her title in a bid to honour late President Michael Sata, who was a great leader and had passion for sports.
Malunga said tickets for the bout which have been pegged at K300 for VIP and K100 for the ring side will only go on sale on the day of the fight.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwean Charles Manyuchi will defend his WBC welterweight belt against Colombia’s Delvis Navarro. The boxers are scheduled to start arriving on November 18, with officials arriving two days later.