Malawi Boxing Association, board tussle over professionals
A cold war has ensued between Malawi Boxing Association (Maba) and Malawi Professional Boxing Control Board over professional boxers.
It all started when Maba claimed that it had received consent to clear professional boxers for international title and non-title fights, a mandate which currently falls under the board.
However, Maba organised a press briefing at Blantyre Youth Centre on Monday where the association’s top brass and members of its professional wing were in attendance.
Maba President, Justice Katika, said the association was affiliated to the International Amateurs Boxing Association and gets funding from the government.
“We just need to follow some steps with our international counterparts and connections to clear the boxers to take part in international fights. Furthermore, Article 12 which was restricting Maba from running a professional wing, was repealled giving us a clear passage to run professional boxing,” he said.
Maba’s National Professional Boxing Committee Chairperson, Daudi Chikwanje, said the press briefing was aimed at clearing the mist surrounding their role in professional boxing and also lure boxers to join the government-recognised body.
“I have been there and I can assure the boxers that they can vie for other belts such as WBA, IBF, WBO, UBO and WBA. The only belt they cannot get clearance from us is ABU because it is affiliated to our counterparts,” he said.
However, Chikwanje and Katika did not show the amended article in the constitution and the relevant documentation mandating the body to clear boxers vying for said belts.
However, the board’s Spokesperson, Frank Chibisa, insisted that the body was the only one in the country mandated to clear boxers for WBA, WBO and WBC fights.
Chibisa claimed that boxers affiliated to Maba can only take part in Olympic and Commonwealth Games.
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