By GWEN CHIPASULA –
CATHERINE Phiri yesterday left for the United States with Zambian Professional Boxing and Wrestling Control Board (ZPBWCB) chairperson Nelson Sapi urging her to grab the Women Boxing Council (WBC) bantamweight gold belt from champion Yazmine Rivas.
The Zambian boxing heroine is accompanied by Oriental Queries Boxing Promotion (OQBP) manager Chris Malunga and trainer Mike ‘Weaver’ Zulu and will be later joined by OQBP director Ahmed Saadi.
Sapi said in a statement that Catherine had been given a chance which she should maximise to her advantage, especially that she would be fighting in her opponent’s back yard.
He advised Catherine to target winning the first six rounds to frustrate her opponent, and was quick to add that the boxer would need to be composed, alert and aggressive throughout the entire fight.
“She should use her left jab as an effective jab goes a long way in helping a boxer win a fight. WBC vice-president and Africa Boxing Union president Houichi (Houcine) rang me yesterday and assured me that all is well, so she has nothing to worry about,” he said.
Sapi said big events like the one Catherine had been offered only came as a way of signifying the level that a boxer had attained in life and in one’s career.
“Such chances don’t easily come, but as for Catherine, this chance has come her way and she should use this chance to her advantage,” he said.
Catherine maintained her vow to become the first African woman boxer to win the title, and that her opponent had a lot to lose out than her who was challenging for the title.
She said during her send-off Press briefing at Lusaka’s Southern Sun yesterday that she felt motivated that the OQBP director would be joining her to show his support.