TOBIAS Munihango lost before he ever set one foot in the ring.
As the heavyweight hopefuls weighed in at the AIBA World Boxing Championships last week, Munihango sat cramped on an airplane – knocked out without a punch, flying toward Chicago. By the time the 24-year-old boxer arrived here, he had travelled nearly 20 hours from his home in southern Namibia, leaving behind his job at a local diamond mine to compete for Olympics qualification.He never would have left home, he now says, had he known the heartache that lay ahead.The Namibian national boxing team initially intended to send six fighters to this year’s tournament, but funding shortfalls meant that only one boxer, and the cash-strapped team’s coach and manager, could travel to Chicago.They selected Munihango as their emissary for one simple reason: “He’s the best boxer in the country,” said Kenneth Muatara, the national coach who noted that Munihango already has won African events, although he has yet to be tested on the world stage.”Tobias has a big future.”That future will have to wait, though, as Munihango sits idle, disqualified for missing last week’s draw and weigh-in by three hours.Team manager Kelly Nghixulifwa blames their late arrival on visa problems, which he says delayed their travel for two days.Rules are rules, AIBA replies, trying its best to enforce order at an event where 600-plus boxers showed up on time.Also, the Namibians had plenty of time to plan, as officials scheduled the 12-day event months in advance.”Once they missed the draw there’s nothing we can do,” said Richard Baker, an association spokesman.Although they are not competing, the Namibian trio can’t afford to change their airline tickets and return home early, meaning they’re stuck for six more days in a city where they know no one besides each other.Nghixulifwa, the manager, has spent much of his time here dressed in a suit and tie, trying to get Munihango reinstated.He has sent faxes, argued with officials and drafted petitions that he writes with passion.”This is completely bizarre and should not be allowed to continue,” he railed in one.In addition to his work for the team, Nghixulifwa has also travelled around the city, both on foot and via the hotel’s Internet connection, hoping to find American business partners for enterprises back in Namibia, the southwestern African nation best known for its AIDS crisis, its ship-wrecking Skeleton Coast and being the place where Angelina Jolie delivered daughter Shiloh.Nghixulifwa sees no reason to sit around Chicago, mourning missed opportunities.”Do you know where I can find these?” he asks one night at the hotel, peering over his designer knock-off eyeglasses and pointing to an article on hedge funds.”We could use this in Namibia.”As much as Nghixulifwa is trying to reap some non-boxing benefits from the trip, Muatara and Munihango seem unable to think of anything else beyond the ring.Both have filled most of their hours ringside at UIC Pavilion, watching round after round, punch after punch.They continued to wear their matching monogrammed Namibia track suits until Thursday, when they said the outfits painfully reminded them that they are not athletes in Chicago, merely spectators.Nghixulifwa said he plans to spend the coming week circulating a proposal he brought with him.It’s an invitation for AIBA to hold another qualifying tournament in Namibia before next year’s Olympics in China.Nghixulifwa thinks his country would be a hospitable place to hold such an event – also, it would give Munihango the chance to qualify in front of his countrymen.No matter where in the world AIBA holds that tournament though, the three Namibians vow to be there.Then, they hope, it’s on to Beijing.They plan to travel early.Chicago TribuneBy the time the 24-year-old boxer arrived here, he had travelled nearly 20 hours from his home in southern Namibia, leaving behind his job at a local diamond mine to compete for Olympics qualification.He never would have left home, he now says, had he known the heartache that lay ahead.The Namibian national boxing team initially intended to send six fighters to this year’s tournament, but funding shortfalls meant that only one boxer, and the cash-strapped team’s coach and manager, could travel to Chicago.They selected Munihango as their emissary for one simple reason: “He’s the best boxer in the country,” said Kenneth Muatara, the national coach who noted that Munihango already has won African events, although he has yet to be tested on the world stage.”Tobias has a big future.”That future will have to wait, though, as Munihango sits idle, disqualified for missing last week’s draw and weigh-in by three hours.Team manager Kelly Nghixulifwa blames their late arrival on visa problems, which he says delayed their travel for two days.Rules are rules, AIBA replies, trying its best to enforce order at an event where 600-plus boxers showed up on time.Also, the Namibians had plenty of time to plan, as officials scheduled the 12-day event months in advance.”Once they missed the draw there’s nothing we can do,” said Richard Baker, an association spokesman.Although they are not competing, the Namibian trio can’t afford to change their airline tickets and return home early, meaning they’re stuck for six more days in a city where they know no one besides each other.Nghixulifwa, the manager, has spent much of his time here dressed in a suit and tie, trying to get Munihango reinstated.He has sent faxes, argued with officials and drafted petitions that he writes with passion.”This is completely bizarre and should not be allowed to continue,” he railed in one.In addition to his work for the team, Nghixulifwa has also travelled around the city, both on foot and via the hotel’s Internet connection, hoping to find American business partners for enterprises back in Namibia, the southwestern African nation best known for its AIDS crisis, its ship-wrecking Skeleton Coast and being the place where Angelina Jolie delivered daughter Shiloh.Nghixulifwa sees no reason to sit around Chicago, mourning missed opportunities.”Do you know where I can find these?” he asks one night at the hotel, peering over his designer knock-off eyeglasses and pointing to an article on hedge funds.”We could use this in Namibia.”As much as Nghixulifwa is trying to reap some non-boxing benefits from the trip, Muatara and Munihango seem unable to think of anything else beyond the ring.Both have filled most of their hours ringside at UIC Pavilion, watching round after round, punch after punch.They continued to wear their matching monogrammed Namibia track suits until Thursday, when they said the outfits painfully reminded them that they are not athletes in Chicago, merely spectators.Nghixulifwa said he plans to spend the coming week circulating a proposal he brought with him.It’s an invitation for AIBA to hold another qualifying tournament in Namibia before next year’s Olympics in China.Nghixulifwa thinks his country would be a hospitable place to hold such an event – also, it would give Munihango the chance to qualify in front of his countrymen.No matter where in the world AIBA holds that tournament though, the three Namibians vow to be there.Then, they hope, it’s on to Beijing.They plan to travel early.Chicago Tribune
