Ministry of Sports and Recreation has dismissed social media claims that Zimbabwe boxing champion Charles Manyuchi could have recieved money to fix his match with Uzbekistan boxer Qudratillo Abduqahorov saying his loss was unfortunate but a normal defeat.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Minister of Sports and Recreation, Makhosini Hlongwane said Manyuchi’s first round technical knockout to Qudratillo Abduqahorov was nothing unusual, urging the nation to support the former WBC welterweight silver champion.
After his latest and only third loss of his career, sport enthusiasts in Zimbabwe have been making unsavoury sentiments on Manyuchi’s failure to defend his WBC welterweight silver title.
The mixed reactions resulting from this defeat followed enormous optimism across the nation that Zimbabwe’s top notch boxer was going to win his match in Singapore on Saturday night.
“Manyuchi’s defeat, in what seemed to be a technical knock-out, has been received a wide range of perceptions.
“However, the Ministry of Sport and Recreation is of the view that Manyuchi’s defeat represents an occurrence that is not alien in the world of sport, as in any context all sportsmen are expected to either fall in or fall out as they defend their merits.
“Government, through the Ministry of Sport and Recreation, assumes an empathetic position on Manyuchi’s unfortunate fate in Singapore. This is because in any tournament there must be a winner and one who bears defeat
“However, these circumstantial positions of triumph and defeat must play an interchanging role in the journey of every sportsperson and should not be confused for destiny,” said Hlongwane.
He appealed to Manyuchi’s fans to embrace the view that athletes are not entitled to unbridled victory.
Hlongwane said this unexpected defeat does not conclusively entail what the future holds for Manyuchi.
“Experiencing defeat is normal in the course of nurturing excellence and his fans must continue to support this esteemed Zimbabwean boxing ambassador,” he added
Minister Hlongwane said the nation must acknowledge the outstanding effort exerted by Manyuchi to measure up to world standards of sportsmanship within the boxing fraternity, and support him in good and bad seasons in his quest to represent Zimbabwe in the international sporting arena.
He urged Charles Manyuchi not to despair, but heave himself up to challenge for his belt and move on to work towards attaining the WBC Gold title.
Charles Manyuchi lost in two minutes 56 seconds to the 23 year old Uzbekistan star and many fans have accused the Zimbabwean of showboating and disrespecting his opponent.
