A RECENT text message from William Njovu inspires this week’s column. Njovu said he’d been following preparations by Esther Phiri who was preparing to fight against Uruguayan boxer Jeniffer Faccio who pulled out of the scrap and has since been replaced by Sandra Almeida.
Njovu wrote: “Hullo, great lover of boxing in Zambia…to the best of my understanding (of) and observations on female boxers in Zambia, Esther is not a good puncher to face these (allegedly) drug-addicted female boxers from the Americas.
“Esther must train hard to improve on punches. Maybe her long big breasts are denying her the much needed power build up to throw powerful punches at her opponents. But as for Catherine Phiri, her future in boxing is very bright. She has a nice body with small breasts and with a lot of skill which Esther (allegedly) doesn’t possess. Catherine is also faster than Esther thereby making her the best female boxer Zambia has ever had. Over to you,” Njovu concluded.
My mind recalled a piece I did titled “Esther, Catherine need each other” published in this column on January 6, 2013. That article had been triggered by Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC’s) Dennis Ilukena who sought my views on what he termed “rumours going round” about who was a better boxer between Esther and Catherine.
I told Dennis then that I’d difficulties comparing the two fighting icons on account that, first, they were in two different weight categories (Esther is a light welterweight, while Catherine is a bantamweight).
I cited a comparison between legendary Muhammad Ali, a former heavyweight champion and current World Boxing Council welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr, both icons in their respective weight divisions.
In my view, I further explained, both Esther and Catherine are great fighters in their own right, even though Esther had more belts than her budding compatriot aged only 20 then, but had the potential to scale Esther’s heights if not surpass her (in fact, with the WBC belt she has already done that).
Ilukena’s inquiry then prompted me to return to a story I read the previous week. As 2012 came to a close, Esther was quoted by the Post as saying, though she was inactive then she was current with what was happening on the boxing scene.
“…people are now comparing me with Catherine. I have heard even her (Catherine) saying ‘I’m better than Esther because I throw accurate punches,’ but she’s too young and we are not even in the same category. So, she should stop talking like that,” Esther was quoted as saying.
I must have missed the story in which Catherine was allegedly blowing her own trumpet about her pedigree. I said, then, that when one got into the limelight as a boxing star or any other celebrity for that matter, comparisons by fans, promoters and the general public were inevitable.
“It’s quite natural for people to start comparing Esther with Catherine, first, because they are both females who have distinguished themselves well in their chosen sport, even though they belong to different weight classes. I think people can express an opinion, even though it may not be informed,” I said.
But I pointed out that  it may be “inappropriate” for Catherine to start praising herself (if indeed she did) as being better than Esther, even if she were, or any other female boxer for that matter, “unless the two were of the same weight category and were preparing to fight” in the ring.
I felt then, and feel so still, that “this rivalry” between two of this country’s finest female fighters to date shouldn’t be allowed to spill into the media. I urged both Catherine and Esther to look at each other as equals and to root for each other, to support each other in any way possible as they prepared for their respective fights.
The two have brought pride and glory to Zambia through the works of their blessed fistic hands. But then again, fans are free to weigh in on who they fancy the better boxer. mwale.simon@yahoo.co.uk / 0966 755 574