Zim boxer Mwando beats 47 yr old Malawian

An ageing Malawian  Peter Perpetual Mkandawire could not last a round, let alone over two minutes, in the ring in an international bout against Zimbabwean Brian Mwando staged at Mzuzu Stadium on Sunday.

The ageing Mkandawire, now 47, attracted scores of people to the stadium through his pre-fight tough talking.  But come the day, he failed to withstand splashes of punches from the 21-year-old Mwando such that within two minutes of the first round, the veteran pugilist had kissed the canvas five times before surrendering.

Referee Stanley Samuel Banda declared a technical knockout in first round of the 10-round no-title match. Mkandawire, popularly known as ‘Ankolo pasi pabedi’, said he could not continue fighting because his opponent hit him below belt.

 “A lot of things happen in the ring. He punched me below the belt and it is paining up to now,” said Mkandawire, some 15 minutes after the end of the bout.  But Mwando denied hitting Mkandawire below the belt saying he punched him on the chin.

 “The referee could have said so because that’s why we have referees. I just wanted to test my fitness because I am preparing for another bout with a Tanzanian [Joseph Sekulu] next month,” said Mwando.

 In the amateur category, Aubrey Masamba defeated Patrick Kayira while bouts between and Laston Kayira and Amoyo Nkhata and Mwayi Kamanga ended in draws. Steve Msiska, who is the director of the promoters of the bout, Ngumi Boxing Stable, said he was happy with exploits of boxers who curtain-raised the match.

 “There is plenty of unpolished gold in the region. If these amateurs can undergo a good mentoring process they can become very good boxers,” said Msiska. In October 2011 Brian Mwando was granted a Universal Boxing Organisation licence that puts him on course to fight for a belt under the globally recognised organisation.

The UBO is one of the world boxing’s sanctioning bodies and was established in 2004 with headquarters in Miami, United States. Daily Times