DETHRONED World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight silver champion Charles Manyuchi (pictured) needs to change his fighting style before he can launch a bid to reclaim his title from Uzbek Qudratillo Abduqaxorov, his manager, Christopher Malunga has revealed.
BY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE
Malunga, who is Oriental Quarries Boxing Promotions (OQBP) operations manager, said the disgraceful manner in which Manyuchi was knocked out by Abduqaxorov in Singapore last month had forced them to seriously consider remodelling his fighting technique.
Manyuchi is a devoted disciple of a showboating style of fighting where he keeps dropping his guard in a bid to lure his opponent into the offensive mode and then catches him offguard.
“Manyuchi lost the fight because of carelessness. Honestly, how can you start playing around with the opponent like that in the first round? We will sit him down and he will definitely change his style of fighting,” Malunga was quoted in the Zambian media last week.
“The trainer kept shouting ‘watch your guard’, but he decided to play around and once the opponent got the opportunity, he was knocked out,” said Malunga.
The Zambia-based Zimbabwean pugilist was made to pay for careless theatrics when he was floored twice inside 2 minutes 56 seconds before the referee stopped the match at the OCBC Arena.
It was Manyuchi’s first title defence bout since he captured the WBC welterweight silver belt last May and it went horribly wrong.
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Last year Manyuchi was at his disciplined best when he conquered highly-rated Russian Dmitry Mikhaylenko in Yekaterinburg, Russia, to capture the silver welterweight title.
Then Manyuchi was at his showboating best in a 2 minute 42 seconds knockout win over Colombian Jose Agustin Julio Feria in Harare last year where he earned a cult hero status in Zimbabwe.
But employing the same tactics on the Uzbek had a disastrous outcome.
However, Malunga stressed that it was a learning curve and the immediate task was to ensure the boxer remained ready should a rematch with Abduqaxorov materialise in the near future.
Malunga also revealed that OQBP would organise a promotional boxing event to be held during the Zambia International Trade Fair in Ndola in July, where Manyuchi is billed to take to the ring in a non-title bout.
