Fight:1933287
Felix Mwamaso beat Bagaza Mwambene by SD in round 8 of 8
News Report
Tanzanian boxer fights Malawi’s Mwamaso despite arrest
OCTOBER 08, 2013 KAREN MSISKA
Tanzanian boxer Bagaza Mwambene squared up against Mzuzu-based Felix Mwamaso at Obrigado Leisure Park on Sunday afternoon despite spending a night in a police cell on Thursday.
Mwambene, a last minute replacement for Roy Mbunda – who is said to have lost his mother the day he was supposed to leave for Malawi – was arrested during Thursday night’s operation and was released Friday morning upon the intervention of one of the promoters of the bout, Dunstan Nyamazi.
“It was a question of communication breakdown because I speak kiSwahili. We could not understand each other properly on the reason I was in Malawi,” said Mwambene, through an interpreter.
“I did not train well enough because of the trauma of spending the night in the cell and it was up to me to fight or not. I did not want to let the promoters and supporters down which is why I stepped up to fight.”
Nyamazi confirmed Mwambene’s arrest, saying the Tanzanian was picked from his room on the first day of a massive clean-up exercise which Northern Region police spokesperson Norrah Chimwala said led to the arrest of up to 207 people.
He said the boxer stayed at his place to avoid a repeat of the incident. Inside the ring, Mwambene – who entered the ring with the Tanzanian flag flying high – gave Mwamaso a good run for his money, effectively dodging the latter’s killer right punches.
After being pushed all over in the first four rounds, Mwambene proved a hard nut to crack in the final four rounds. Nevertheless, he lost on a split decision with the judges having scored 77-73, 73-78 and 80-72 in favour of Mwamaso.
“I did fight well because I did not train properly. I am prepared for a rematch and I would come again to fight even if it is for free,” he added.
Mwamaso, fighting his first international bout since turning professional, was mobbed immediately after being declared winner and vanished in the crowd that patronised the fight.
Nyamazi hailed patronage to the fight, saying it mirrored its status of being an international fight. He promised more international fights.