It’s 40 years now since Zambia won their first and only Olympic medal so far at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles in the USA.
At only 18 years, southpaw Keith Mwila is the golden boy who ended Zambia’s 20-year barren campaign in the Olympics boxing tournament since making their debut in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Nicknamed Spinks, Mwila landed in the US walking tall after winning gold at the 1983 Africa Boxing Championships in Kampala. This writer was with Mwila in Kampala covering the Africa Championships for Kenya Times newspaper, and in the several interviews with him and watching keenly his immaculate show in the ring, there was a convinction that Mwila was headed for big success in the ring.
At the 1984 LA Olympics, Mwila punched his way to the semi-finals, losing on points to Italy’s Salvatore Todisco who was beaten in the finals by Paul Gonzalez of the USA.
Mwila started his boxing in Zambia’s copperbelt province of Chingola before moving to Lusaka where he joined the Zambia Army-sponsored Green Buffaloes Boxing Club coached by Vincent Mudenda, father to the current national coach Wisdom Mudenda. Mwila died in 1993.
Since 1984, Zambia, regarded as one of Africa’s superpowers in the ring, have tried in vain to win another Olympic boxing medal.
Even their celebrated boxers, Julius Luipa and Lottie Mwale did not succeed in the Olympic Games.
While Luipa, twice silver medallist in the 1970 and 1974 Commonwealth Games, had two unsuccessful attempts at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics, Mwale, a former Commonwealth and WBC International champion, was unlucky to miss out the 1976 Olympics when Zambia joined more than 20 African and Arab countries to boycott the Games in protest at New Zealand’s participation because of having sporting ties with apartheid South Africa.
Zambia’s consolation is that five of their boxers, featherweight Winfred Kabunda, light-middleweight Wilson Kaoma, light-middleweight Chris Kapopo, middleweight Moses Mwaba and light-welterweight Anthony Mwamba made it to the quarter-finals at the various editions of the Olympics they represented their national team.
In addition to the aforementioned, Zambia has produced some of the best boxers in Africa such as Lucky Mutale, 1973 African Games flyweight champion Tim Feruka, Chisanda Mutti, Kenny Mwansa, John Sichula, Godfrey Mwamba and 2002 Commonwealth Games flyweight champion who was at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Kennedy Kanyanta, but they’ve yet to make an impact in the Olympic Games.
Zambia’s participation in the Paris Olympics will be the 15th time the boxers are taking part in these prestigious Games.
In the last Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Zambia was represented by three boxers, flyweight Patrick Chinyemba, featherweight Evaristo Mulenga and welterweight Stephen Zimba.
Chinyemba first outpointed Australia’s Alex Winward in the round of 32 and lost 3-2 to Britain’s 2018 Commonwealth Games champion Galai Yafai in the round of 16. Mulenga got a bye in the round of 32 and lost 3-2 to Columbia’s Ceiber Avila in pre-quarters while Zimba beat Samoa’s Marion Faustino Ah Tong in the round of 32 and then lost 4-1 to Russia’s 2019 world champion Andrey Zamkovoy in the round of 16.
Chinyemba is back at it. This time teaming up with flyweight Margret Tembo, Zambia’s first ever female boxer to participate in the Olympics.
The two boxers are well aware of the daunting task to end Zambia’s 40-year drought in the Olympic Games boxing tournament.
Zambia’s federation and the Olympic Committee decided to invest more on ring artist Chinyemba by financing his pre-Games camp, and it’s to be hoped he will succeed where others have failed. He’s a talented and crafty boxer capable of a podium finish.
Go! go! Zambian boxers Chinyemba and Tembo. Make Africa proud in Paris.
Credit: AFBC Communications
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