WBC super bantamweight champion Fatuma ‘Iron Fist’ Zarika beat her Zambian challenger, Catherine Phiri on Saturday night to retain her title.
Zarika won after a 3-0 unanimous decision following the fight that was hosted at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi. The judges, Michael Neequaye, Fillemon Mweya and Irene Semakula gave their scores as 98-92 99-91 97-93 sending KICC into a frenzy.
Zarika said that Phiri has had the last chance to snatch the title from her. The match was a repeat of the December 2, 2017 title contest at the Carnivore Grounds, Nairobi where she carried the day in an explosive fight.
Since then, Zarika went on to deliver a successful defence beating visiting Mexican Yamileth “Yeimi” Mercado in a split points decision on September 8 last year.
Phiri has had three fights, winning all since then. Phiri once held the WBC World bantamweight title where she defended it once before losing it.
Fatuma Zarika retained her WBC Super Bantamweight championship title after beating Zambia’s Catherine Phiri in Nairobi on Saturday night.
The Kenyan first won the title after she dethroned the then-defending champion Alicia Ashley of Jamaica on October 1, 2016, in a shock victory in New York.
Zarika had been training in Liverpool for the last one and a half months under the tutelage of Briton Declan O’Rourke. It was the third time for the Kenyan pugilist to defend the title after beating Phiri and Mexican Yamileth Mercado last year.
Phiri who jetted to Nairobi from Lusaka on Tuesday had promised to inflict defeat on the world champion in the return clash as she was not ready to make the same mistakes she made in the previous match.
Source: The Star
