Blessing Nduku
In a thrilling display of skill and determination, ‘Starboy’, full name Hassan Milanzi (27) from Otto Boxing Club in Gweru, successfully defended his World Boxing Federation (WBF) Inter-Continental Super Bantam-weight Championship title against a formidable challenger last weekend.
Speaking to this reporter, Starboy expressed how difficult it was for him to defend this title, but he ultimately conquered.
“I feel honored after defending this title against Abdul Kubira, a Tanzanian boxer. Preparations for the match were going well and I was ready to defend and make sure that this WBF belt stays in Zimbabwe and it came out like that.
“Before this game, I talked to other journalists and said that the most important thing is to defend this belt so that Zimbabwe remains on the international boxing map and I will make sure that it stays that well.
He went on to say that this victory made him see his readiness for even hard matches.
“Being able to defend the WBF title made me feel confident that I am now ready for world titles. So I am accepting new challenges now and hopefully by the grace of God I will be able to conquer them all.
After the win, Starboy won the best male boxer of the year 2024 at the Annual National Sports Awards, which were belatedly held at Cresta Lodge and presided by the new Minister of Sports, Lt-GEN (Rtd) Anslem Sanyatwe.
Milanzi expressed his gratitude to everyone who was there to support him and is excited to be recognised amongst all boxers in the country.
“I feel honoured by the award that I won the next day after I defended my title.
The vent was good and the turnout also made me realise that people are now recognising boxing as well as enjoying it, not forgetting supporting boxing.
The only thing now is that I am appealing to all corporate sponsors to come in numbers, just like they came to the last match would make boxing better in Zimbabwe.
Starboy is set to face a Namibian boxer, Nghitumbwa L, in Windhoek at the Ramatex Complex, Namibia, next weekend for the coveted World Boxing Organisation (WBO) African title.
