By SANDRA MWILA –
ESTHER Phiri was stretched to the limit and had to rely on experience to defeat a determined Evelyn Odoro of Kenya in the eighth round to win the non-title welterweight fight on unanimous points decision.
The former Women International Boxing Association (WIBA) champion’s comeback fight was, however, stopped by a heavy downpour that saw the venue, Chez Ntemba VIP Lounge, Kabulonga, flooded.
Supporting bouts that were scheduled for 16:00 hours were delayed by two hours as organisers laboured to mop away the water in the ring because of a leaking marquee.
It was no surprise that most boxers slipped during their fights owing to the wetness of the ring that organisers kept mopping after each round as the rain equally continued to pour.
Esther started the fight looking for a killer-punch to knock out Odoro who held firm dogging most of the punches. But Esther found a good combination of punches that sent Odoro to the ropes on some occasions much to the joy of the sizeable crowd that turned up for the fight.
As the rounds progressed, Odoro resorted to holding and she faced a penalty in the seventh round before Esther came-back stronger in the last round, with fans cheering her on, the Zambian went in search of the elusive knock out as she unleashed some powerful punches on Kenyan face.
Odoro responded by landing some free punches at Esther but the Zambian had already won the fight as fans were left cheering for  the two boxers who put up a decent fight.
“I am happy that I have won this fight because it shows that I can still fight despite having been out of the ring for two years. Evelyn is a good boxer who gave me a good fight and I had to use my experience to win,” she said.
Ponga Liwewe, who is the tournament marketing manager, said plans were underway to arrange a title fight for Esther and that details would be unveiled once negotiations reach an advanced stage.
Meanwhile, in the supporting bouts, Lina Kasweka’s debut fight ended in victory after winning via a split point decision over Zimbabwean Patience Mustara who has a record of 11 fights of which nine are wins and two loses.
In the middleweight category, Mastro Mbangu needed referee William Sekeleti to stop the fight and save him from further punishment from Chimanga Babagani who went on to win the fight via a technical knockout.
Joel Mwewa beat Abiaus Silupumbwa in a light welterweight fight to win on unanimous point decision while Amos Temfumaus knocked out Masozi Kamanga in the third round of the cruiserweight fight.
There was a walkover for Sheif Kasongo in the middleweight category after his Tanzanian opponent, Jacob Maganga, refused to fight saying the purse money had been reduced.
Inside sources said Maganga refused to fight because his purse money was reduced from K6,000 to K2,000 after he had already signed the contract.