Celebrated Mr Ugly, Willard Masvinu says he was destined to become a great boxer had he not been involved in an accident which left him permanently scarred.
Report by Wellington Zimbowa
The 39-year-old Masvinu said he was a victim of a hit and run car accident in Chegutu in the early 1990s, which cut short a promising boxing career which he started at Wafawafa in Mbare in the 1980s when he was still a young boy.
The Epworth-based man claimed no one would dare challenge him in the social matches held back in the early 1980s in Mbare.
He said up to today, he regretted the day he was knocked down by a car which rendered him “useless” in the ring. Masvinu said due to the accident, he now walked with a limp.
Mr Ugly said if it was not for the accident, his star could have risen in the boxing arena where he claimed to have at one time trained the likes of Commonwealth boxing medalist, Arifonso Zvenyika.
“At times I keep cursing the bad omen that led me into an accident disrupting my future in boxing, where I used to even train the likes of Zvenyika,” he said in an interview from his Mbare base.
Masvinu said from an early age, he could tell that Zvenyika was a star in the making.
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Zvenyika who had a successful boxing career, but no longer has anything to show for it, confirmed knowing Masvinu in boxing circles.
“I was around 12 years old then and Masvinu was in his mid-20s when he used to train us on a social note,” said the pugilist.
Masvinu bemoaned the lack of corporate world support for “celebrities” like him. He said as the reigning Mr Ugly Harare, he should be in the same league with superstars such as Oliver Mtukudzi.
“Despite my celebrity status, my life hasn’t changed and I still struggle to make ends meet,” he said. “The corporate world should support me as I am a celebrity just like other musicians and top people.”
The interview with Masvinu was constantly interrupted by people streaming to hear what their celeb was up to in a corner with a journalist that wrote and recorded as he spoke.
Masvinu said he can hardly walk in the streets without people mobbing him or asking to take a photo of him. He said he eagerly accepted such requests as he understood the nature of his “office as a public figure”.
Mr Ugly took a swipe at celebrities who become pompous and failed to pay back society because of fame.
“Munhu, munhu ukafa unofushirwa [death does not differentiate,we all get buried when we die], it’s not good shunning others and assuming a superficial status,” he said.
Masvinu said he now enjoyed numerous free drinks and beer and often gets into shows without paying, as people respected his celebrity status.
