Africa-Press – Malawi. Malawian female boxers have outshined their male counterparts after rating highly on boxrec.com, a site that keeps official records of the sport, allowing matchmakers to pair possible opponents.
In the latest rankings, Anisha Basheel, Ellen Simwaka and Ruth Chisale are bossing their categories in Africa and are also well-placed in the world on the site, which is mainly use d for reference when arranging fights.
Basheel is rated first in lightweight category in Africa and 15th in the world while her fellow Malawi Defence Force boxer, Chisale, is also first in Africa in welterweight category.
In the world, Chisale is rated eighth. In bantamweight category, South Africa-based Simwaka is second in Africa and on position 12 in the world. However, it is not all rosy for Malawian male boxers as only South Africa-based pugilist Isaac Chilemba is rated highly as he is second in Africa in super middleweight category.
Other Malawian male boxers Dennis Mwale and Hannock Phiri are rated on position 13th and 14th, respectively, in Africa in super lightweight category. Simwaka said it was encouraging for women boxers to be rated highly.
“However, we can earn a better ranking in the world if we get more fights especially title fights. Nevertheless, we must not get complacent but continue working hard to achieve great things in the sport,” she said. Matchmaker Stephen ‘Mawenzi’ Msiska said he was not surprised with the development, saying male boxers face stiff competition.
“There are a lot of male boxers across the world; as such, to break into the top 10 or even 20 it is not easy. Most of our boxers also perform poorly during international fights due to lack of preparations,” he said.
Msiska also noted that Southern Africa was doing well in terms of female boxing. “Countries such as Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa are also doing well. Zambia produced two female World Boxing Council champions in Esther Phiri and Catherine Phiri. This is also good for the region,” he said.
One of the male boxers, who did not want to be mentioned, said women boxers were better placed to reach far in boxing. “Not undermining what the ladies have achieved in boxing, we [men] face a lot of obstacles because there are a lot of male boxers. To get a title offer is not easy,” he said.
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