Heroic Zarika says retirement could come early for her
Two days after retaining her World Boxing Council (WBC) super bantamweight title by defeating Zambian Catherine Phiri , Fatuma Zarika says next year could be her last season in the ring.
Zarika won the brutal bout on unanimous points decision after she scored 97-92, 98-91 and 99-92 from the three international judges who presided over the fight.
“I have one more year in the ring, I will defend this title three or four times next year then quit,” she said
The Saturday night victory extended Zarika’s win record to 30, of which 17 have been via knock-outs. She is hoping to continue with her great form next season.
“We are still organizing for some non- title fight in March and hopefully defend them. I’m humbled. At least I get some money from the fights thanks to my new manager and the sponsors than have come in handy,” Zarika enthused.
In an interview with Jeff and Jalas on the Hot 96 breakfast show, Zarika urged the boxing federation to put in more effort to support the sport in the country.
“The boxing federation is not as strong as it should be, and not everyone who is there has the will to help the sport grow because of their selfishness.
“We need to change the approach for the sport to grow because as you have seen from the crowds on Saturday, the sport has massive following,” she said.
Having delivered an early Christmas gift to her fans, Zarika still has one opponent that she wants to face before she retires from the sport.
“ I want a rematch with Amanda Serrano from the US ,I have fought her before and she really gave me a hard time, but now with the good training facilities thanks to the sponsors I believe I can beat her, ” she concluded .
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