Anisha Bashir disqualified
Former African Boxing Union (ABU) Female Lightweight champion Anisha Bashir’s quest to reclaim the title ended in vain after she was disqualified for failing to meet the required weight.
The Malawi Defence Force boxer was supposed to face champion Therese Naomi Yumba in Kinshasa on Saturday.
However, having suffered a travel setback when she failed to leave Zimbabwe for Kinshasa, Bashir endured another nightmare when she failed to be in-weight.
According to Bashir’s manager-cum-trainer Clyde Musonda of Zimbabwe Delta Force Boxing Academy, the former ABU champion weighed 63.5 kilogrammes (kg) and failed to be within the required weight limit of 61.2kg.
Musonda blamed promoters for the mess.
“We were treated wrongly. We spent three days before travelling due to lack of tickets. This was my first time witnessing a boxer going into a weigh-in session straight from the plane. How do you expect the boxer to be in weight category,” he said.
Musonda said they complained to ABU, who agreed to sanction the fight next year in April.
Malawi Professional Boxing Control Board President Lonzoe ‘Defector’ Zimba said he was aware of the development, adding that the distance between Bashir and her manager might have contributed to the weight issue.
“As an executive member of ABU, I was notified about the incident. I think Bashir’s manager [Musonda] failed to monitor the boxer due to the geographic distance between the two countries,” he said.
