Amehlo kaThabiso asesicocweni kweyokuhlunga eRussia
Uthole ithuba lesibili lokulwela isicoco seWorld Boxing Council (WBC) uThabiso “The Rock” Mchunu njengoba ezodudulana kweyokuhlunga no-Evgeny Tishchenko waseRussia.
Le mpi yalabo somankomane izokuba kusasa ngoMgqibelo eRCC Boxing Academy, eYekaterinburg, eRussia.
Ozonqoba lapha uzotholana phezulu no-Ilunga “Junior” Makabu waseDemocratic Republic of Congo (DRC) oyingqwele kuCruiserweight ngaphansi kwale nhlangano ebalwa nezine ezinkulu emhlabeni kwezamankomane.
Uma uMchunu odabuka kwaXimba eCato Ridge eyinqoba le mpi yaseRussia uzothola ithuba lokubuyisa izinduku kuMakabu, owamhlula phambi kwezindimbame zabalandeli bakhe empini eyayibanjelwe eConvention Centre eThekwini ngonyaka wezi-2014.
Kuleya mpi eyasusa izibhelu sekulwa abalandeli bakaMchunu noMakabu, babelwela igunya lokubhekana noTony Bellew owayengumpetha ngaleso sikhathi.
UPeter Smith ongumqeqeshi kaMchunu uthe amalungiselelo ahambe kahle, asebekulindile ukungena eringini baqede ngendoda.
“Isitha sakhe silwa into ecishe ifane naye uThabiso. Impi yamanxele kodwa owami uzonqoba. Ngokwezinhlelo zamalungiselelo konke kuhambe kahle njengoba sesihlale amasonto amaningi sizijwayeza ngesimo sezulu eRussia. Konke sekumi ngomumo,” kusho uSmith.
Ukulwa eRussia uMchunu kubukeka kungasamthusi njengoba evamise ukulwa kahle khona. Egcina ukuba seringini ubuye nebhande lesiliva leWBC ngemuva kokwehlula ngamaphuzu uDenis Lebedev waseRussia ngoZibandlela wangonyaka wezi-2019.
UMchunu uzoya kule mpi egabe ngerekhodi lezimpi ezingama-27, lapho enqobe ezingama-22 kanti usahlulwe kwezinhlanu. Kwahlulwa kuzona washaywa uZack Mwekassa waseDRC, uMakabu, u-Oleksandar Usy wase-Ukraine, uConstantin Bejanaru waseRomania kantu ugcine ukuhlulwa ngonyaka wezi-2018 eshaywa ngumkhaya wakhe uThomas Oosthuizen.
UTishchenko yena ogcine ukulwa ngoLwezi wonyaka odlule, usaphumelele kuzona zonke izimpi eziyisishagalombili asezilwile kanti unemingqimuzo eyisithupha.
Unerekhodi elihle lokumela izwe lakhe, emqhudelwaneni we-Olympics ngonyaka wezi-2016, iWorld Championship ngonyaka wezi-2015, ne-European Championships ngowezi-2017 lapho ebuye nezindondo zegolide.
Ngaphandle kwesibhakela ugabe ngeziqu zeDegree kuPhysical Education kanti uyiphoyisa eSaint Petersburg.
Khonamanjalo, uyise kaMchunu ophinde abe ngumqeqeshi wakhe u-Alex “Nkalakatha” Mchunu, ekhuluma nelaboHlanga uthe: “Sisebenze kakhulu ukuzilungiselela le mpi sinoThabiso, ngiyazi ngeke aze aphoxe uzonqoba nakanjani. Silitholile ithuba elanele lokubuka isitha nakanjani uzoyinqoba le mpi uThabiso. Ngimfisela okuhle kodwa.”
Uphinde wazisa leli phephandaba ukuthi uswele amaphiko okundiza njengoba uMnyango Wezemidlalo KwaZulu-Natal oholwa uMphathiswa uHlengiwe Mavimbela umethembise ukumakhela indawo yokuqeqesha osomankomane ngakubo.
Bese kuphele iminyaka eqeqesha abafana bendawo endlini kalawundi kanina. Ikuwo lo lawundi okukhiqizwe khona uMchunu oseke wanqoba isicoco sakuleli neseWBA Pan African. UNkk uNomvelo kaMagcaba Shezi osenguphromotha weMvelo Promotions naye waphekwa kuyona le ndawo.
Lo mqeqeshi uthe bakavashelwe izikhulu zoMnyango Wezemidlalo ezifike zathatha izithombe zamabhande anqotshwa uMchunu wase ebakhombisa lapho acela ukwakhelwa khona.
UKaMagcaba Shezi oyisihlobo sikaMchunu uthe naye uyamthemba ukuthi uzoyinqoba le mpi.
“Kungekhona ukuthi ngisondelene naye uThe Rock kodwa angiboni ehlulwa kule mpi. Nakanjani uzofike aliphakamise ifulegi lalapha eNingizimu Afrika eRussia. Okuhle ukuthi akanayo ingcindezi yabalandeli ebingamubhekisela phansi,” kusho ukaMagcaba Shezi.