WBC to start pension payments next year
By Sports Reporter
THE World Boxing Council (WBC) will only start paying pensioned boxers next year, newly appointed African Boxing Union (ABU) regional vice-president Nelson Sapi has said.
Sapi said WBC did not have money to pay retired boxers hence the move which has affected Zambia’s former Commonwealth and African light heavyweight champion Lottie Mwale.
“As at now, there is no money to pay pensioned boxers and payment will only resume after December this year,” said Sapi who is also out-going Boxing Board of Control (BBC) president.
He said former American boxer Roger Viani took WBC to court and was awarded $31 million but the council only agreed to pay $300 because it did not have money.
However, Sapi said the WBC was organising a Night of Champions fight where all former WBC champions such as Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali among others had been invited to take part.
He said WBC had organised the Night of Champions to raise funds for pensioned boxers and that the charge for the event had been pegged at $1000.
And Sapi has appealed to Lottie’s friends and business institutions to help the former boxer as relying on Government alone would not help because it had other commitments.
Mwale, who suffersfrom Parkinson’s disease recently moved in with his son Gunduzani in Lusaka’s Mandevu township.
