Boxing Federation of Malawi has described the launch of regional leagues held at Brimat Multipurpose Hall in Lilongwe on Sunday as a big step forward for the sport.

The association’s vice-president Maxwell Tsitsi said with the launch of the league, the future looks bright for boxers.

“From what we have seen today, there are good things to come from this initiative. We are encouraged by the good patronage, bearing in mind that most of the bouts involved amateurs and the performance was impressive,” he said.

Betiti (in red and white trunks) dodges a punch from Banda. | Singayazi Kaminjolo

Tsitsi also hailed the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture for recognising the federation.

“They [the ministry] have supported us to reach this far. It has been our dream to launch boxing leagues and we are happy it has materilised,” he said.

Tsitsi said the league will run for six months and will be competed for by clubs fortnightly.

Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture director of sports Justice Msopera said he was impressed with both the organisation of the event and the talent he saw.

He said: “This is the first time to have a boxing league. It will provide boxers with

opportunity for more bouts and also develop their skills. The league will also give the technical people a chance to asses boxers and teach them the best techniques.

“My advice to the federation is to strive for international standards. We are here to support them and we have already demonstrated this by providing an international standard boxing ring.”

In the main bout during the launch, Malawian Yohane Banda and Jeromy Betiti from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) settled for a draw.

The main supporting bout saw Elias Bonzo from Malawi beating Enock Rabana of DRC through technical knockout (TKO).

In other fights, Hanreck Chidule and Nyuma Ngwira beat Davie Machemba and Genavic Masango also on TKO.

In the women’s category, a bout involving Deborah Mtenje and Alinafe Gilbert ended in a draw.