To motivate local boxers, the Malawi Professional Boxing Control Board (MPBCB) will introduce annual boxing awards.
The board disclosed the plans over the weekend in Lilongwe during a meeting with boxers, managers, ringside officials and match makers.
The board’s Chairperson, Lonzoe Zimba, said the awards were meant to encourage boxers to win local and international fights.
“Come rain or sunshine, this year we will award best professional boxers in the country. It will be the first of its kind and we will set up a special fund for the event,” Zimba said.
He said the board will also award ringside officials, promoters and journalists.
Meanwhile, the board has also advised its boxers to prepare for life after boxing, saying it was sad that some former pugilists are rendered destitute upon retirement.
“Boxing, just like the majority of the sporting code, is a short-term career, so let us make sure that we invest the little we get from boxing. I will be glad if I see the majo rity of the boxers venturing into small-scale businesses,” said Zimba who was accompanied by the board’s General Secretary, Frank Chibisa.
The meeting also sensitised the boxers on the importance of making informed decisions over the choice of boxing sanctioning bodies.
This comes after the board was caught unawares recently when many prominent boxers jumped ship to join Malawi Boxing Association (Maba) Pro-wing.
The board and Maba have been embroiled in wrangles over the mandate to manage professional bouts this year.
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