It’s a Win for The Iron Fist Lady- Zarika

The much publicized fight night between Kenyan’s Zarika Fatuma also known as the ‘iron fist’ and Zambia’s Catherine Phiri took place on Saturday 23rd at the Kenyatta International Conventional Center- KICC.
Phiri showed a spirited fight kicking off the match with aggression and speed on the first three rounds, on the other hand Zarika started off shaky but gained momentum along the way. Phiri was on a mission to revenge her loss against Zarika in December 2017 where she lost 3-0.
A boxing match majorly involves three minute rounds of up to 12 rounds, which are predetermined by the judges. A winner is determined in regard to the number of punches towards the opponent, with every round won one gaining ten points.
The Saturday bout went for ten rounds and by the eighth round it was clear that Zarika was on the lead on the judges’ score cards.
Following a unanimous decision by the three judges present Michael Neequaye (Ghana), Fillemon Meya (Namibia) and Irene Semakula (Uganda) Zarika was declared the winner scoring 98-92, 99-91 and 97-93. She managed to retain her World Boxing Council (WBC) title in the World super bantamweight title.
The 34 year old Zarika, has put on her retirement plans and plans to continue her winning streak. Currently she has won 32 matches, losing 12 and drawing on 2. Phiri has had 14 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses (both to Zarika). She was worthy challenger to Zarika having won the WBC title in the bantamweight in 2016.
Kenyans online had mixed reactions towards her win, some in her favor while others in favor of Phiri.