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Mwakinyo gets one-year ban for refusing to honour contract
Hassan Mwakinyo
What you need to know:
- TPBRC secretary general George Silas announced the suspension of Mwakinyo and imposed a fine of Sh1 million on him.
Dar es Salaam. The Tanzania Professional Boxing Regulatory Commission (TPBRC) yesterday announced a one-year suspension against boxer Hassan Mwakinyo and imposed a fine of Sh1 million on him for failing to honour his contract in a fight against Julius Indongo of Namibia.
TPBRC secretary general George Silas made the announcement as the body’s president, Chaurembo Palasa, said if Mwakinyo decides to use another country's permit to fight in international bouts, further steps would be taken against him by TPBRC.
Silas explained that the boxing icon is allowed to appeal against his suspension within seven days.
However, he said the punishment would not deter PAF, the fight’s promotion firm, from pursuing further legal action against Mwakinyo.
The suspension and the fine come following his refusal to fight Indongo on September 29 this year in Dar es Salaam, where the promoter claimed that Mwakinyo had breached their contract.
Before arriving at its decision to suspend the boxer, TPBRC had to seek evidence from both parties before proving to itself that the boxer had breached the contract.
However, some boxing experts in the country believe that the impact of his suspension will primarily be felt domestically, but internationally, he remains eligible to compete.
They cited the examples of other boxers like Harrison Nii Lartey of Ghana and Russian boxer Abdulkerim Edilov, who faced bans in their respective countries but continued to fight internationally with licences from other nations.
The boxing experts further said that boxing is essentially a business, and Mwakinyo could pursue international opportunities with a foreign licence without repercussions from TPBRC.
The fighter’s former promoter, Ally Mwazoa, said that TPBRC has taken its decision because of Mwakinyo's action of boycotting the fight, but he added that the boxer might find a solution through the boxing body in order to protect his boxing talent.
However, TPBRC remains vigilant and ready to enforce further penalties should Mwakinyo employ such tactics.
Efforts to contact Mwakinyo from Tanga Region to comment on the matter proved futile yesterday as the professional boxer failed to answer calls on his phone.
