Kudakwashe Chiwandire – Taking Money Dream Coming True
Kudakwashe Chiwandire
By Tapfuma Machakaire 17/10/2022
Kudakwashe “Take Money” Chiwandire, Zimbabwe’s female boxing champion who came close to quitting her favourite sport due to a chain of frustrations, is now counting the money, after retaining her World Boxing Council (WBC) interim super bantamweight title.
She thumped Mexico’s Zulina Munoz at the Harare International Conference (HICC) on Friday evening – October 14, earning a unanimous points decision. She knocked down Munoz in the fourth and fifth rounds to earn the unanimous decision after 10 rounds.
The victory took Chiwandire one step closer towards challenging another Mexican, Yamileth Mercado, the current holder of the WBC super-bantamweight gold title.
After a gruelling five rounds in which she was subjected to a foray of uppercuts Munoz tried to fight back utilising all her tricks in the seventh, eighth, and ninth rounds but was no match to Take Money who had done her homework to perfection.
Chiwandire’s performance was that of one with a resolve to hold on for an impressive victory, which took her record to six wins, two losses and one draw from eight bouts.
True to her nickname Take Money took away the cash, US$20,000.00 for the victory with an additional pledge to match the same prize money coming from the Deputy Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, Tino Machakaire. Chiwandire will also receive a further US$1000 winning bonus from South Africa-based leading funeral and repatriations service provider, Zororo-Phumulani.
In April 2022, President Emmerson Mnangagwa who heard about the story of the struggling boxer, cheered up Chiwandire with a whooping US$15 000 reward for winning the World Boxing Council Interim Super-Bantamweight world champion.
This was after the 26-year-old fighter had posted a judges’ decision victory over the highly fancied Catherine Phiri of Zambia on February 26, 2022. Chiwandire had embarrassed her opponent in her backyard at the Lusaka Government Complex in Zambia.
Having used in excess of US$2 000 in preparations for the bout, Chiwandire and her management made significant losses when her victory earned her a mere US$1 500.00
The windfall came at an opportune moment when Chiwandire had contemplated quitting the potentially lucrative sport due to the tussle she had to go through to acquire resources to sustain her trade.
Presenting the reward to Chiwandire at State House President Mnangagwa hailed the young lady’s victory.
“Her victory has seen her automatically becoming the highest ranked female boxer in Africa, across all weight categories and the only female boxer currently holding a World Boxing Council title on the African continent. This is a remarkable milestone as she has also become the highest ranked Zimbabwean boxer in the history of boxing in this country. Congratulations, Makorokoto, Amhlophe,” said the President.
Chiwandire made her professional debut on 28 November 2015, scoring a four-round unanimous decision (UD) victory against Barbara Banda at the National Sports Development Centre in Lusaka, Zambia.
On October 2nd 2022 as Chiwandire was struggling with preparations for the fight against Munoz, Harare based journalist Michael Kariati wrote, “It is saddening to learn of the cancellation if not postponement of Kudakwashe Chiwandire’s World Boxing Council super-bantamweight title defence against Zulina Munoz of Mexico.
It is cruel that this fight has been postponed not only once but for the second if not third time all because there is no money to stage the bout in Zimbabwe.
Surely, how could the whole of Zimbabwe fail to have a person or people willing to pay airfares for two or three people to travel from Mexico to Zimbabwe?
Chiwandire’s victory has cheered up the spirit of most Zimbabweans who are struggling to earn a living in a depressed economy.
