Mwakinyo, Class stripped of WBF intercontinental titles
(left), features in the past fight. Mwakinyo has been stripped of his World Boxing Federation intercontinental super welterweight title after failing to defend it. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- The decisions means Tanzania has no WBF title holder as it was experienced before. The country had various WBF champions including Francis “SMG” Cheka
Dar es Salaam. The World Boxing Federation (WBF) has stripped top professional boxers in the country, Hassan Mwakinyo and Ibrahim Class, of their WBF titles due to technical reasons.
The decisions means Tanzania now has no WBF title holder as it was experienced before. The country had various WBF champions including Francis “SMG” Cheka who won the title on TKO over Phil Williams of the US.
Mwakinyo won the WBF intercontinental super-welterweight title on August 14, 2020 after outpointing Congolese boxer Bebe Rico Tshibangu at the Mlimani City Hall in Dar es Salaam.
Then the boxer defended well the title at the Next Door Arena on November 13 after recording a technical Knockout (TKO) win over Jose Carlos Paz of Argentina.
The report said that Mwakinyo’s decision to fight for the African Boxing Union (ABU) super-welterweight title against Angolan Antonio Maiala on May 28 last year and win on TKO was the main reason.
The boxer also defended well his ABU title at the Ubungo Plaza’s Kilimanjaro Hall on September 3, 2021 after recording another TKO win over Namibian Julius Indongo. As per the WBF website, Mwakinyo is not listed in the rankings as Romanian boxer Victor Ionascu is the current world champion of the weight category.
For his part, Ibrahim Class won the World Boxing Federation Intercontinental Lightweight title on January 29 last year at the Next Door Arena over Denis Mwale of Malawi and later won over Sibusiso Zingange of South Africa on points.
The WBF representative in Tanzania, Chatta Michael, confirmed the report, saying Mwakinyo and Class have been stripped of their titles as per the body’s rules and regulations. Michael said after the boxers opted to fight for other titles instead of defending their titles at a specific time, WBF technical committee decided to take the decision.
“It is sad news because the boxers fought hard to win the titles after efforts had been made by sponsors to organize their bouts. The task was for the boxers to defend their titles, but they failed to do so, which means they violated the rules and regulations of the WBF,” said Michael.
However, Mwakinyo has said he will bounce back to attain his standard in the game after being out of the ring for more than four months now.
Mwakinyo who has dropped five places in the World professional boxing records, fights in the super welterweight division. He said “unavoidable reasons” kept him out of the boxing ring for a short period. Currently, the boxer is ranked 15th in the world boxing rankings.
“I have no plans for the feature, or any bout soon, I have given myself a short break until I end my mother’s mourning,” said Mwakinyo.
