• Zambian boxer will face champion Fatuma Zarika on Saturday.
• Phiri beat Mexican Yazmin Rivers in 2016 to be crowned WBC bantamweight champion
Image: COURTESY
I am well prepared for the fight and I have no doubt that I will put on a good show on SaturdayCatherine Phiri
Zambian boxer Catherine Phiri has arrived in Nairobi ready to take up on Kenya's Fatuma Zarika.
Full of confidence, Phiri said she has come for nothing less than the World Boxing Council Super Bantamweight belt.
She was accompanied by her trainer Michael Zulu and promoter Christopher Malunga when she landed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 5.25am.
The Saturday night action will be a second run at the coveted world title.
Phiri and Zarika will take to the ring for a second time at the Kenyatta International Convention Center (KICC) on Saturday in a highly anticipated event dubbed ‘Nairobi Fight Night’.
World champion Zarika returned to the country on March 16 following a month-long training stint in the United Kingdom under the watchful eye of trainer Declan O’Rourke and support of former World Cruiserweight Champion, Tony Bellew.
“I am happy to be here, it’s not my first time in Kenya so I feel like I’m home.
“I’m satisfied with the training that I have been doing and having worked on the mistakes I made the last time, I am confident I will win the fight,” she added.
The two fighters will trade fists for a second time in 15 months after Zarika outlasted her in 10 rounds to retain her WBC title at the Carnivore Grounds in Nairobi on Saturday, December 2, 2017.
Phiri, who beat Mexican Yazmin Rivers in 2016 to be crowned WBC bantamweight champion, lost the close contest through a unanimous point decision of 97-92, 98-91 and 99-92 from the three international judges.
“I haven’t come for anything less than the belt and Zarika should know that.
“There has to be a winner and a loser, that’s how the game goes. This time round, I am confident of victory,” Phiri underlined.
Tickets for the Nairobi Fight Night are on sale on mookh.com, with regular tickets going for Ksh1,000 and VIP at Ksh3,000.
The event will feature four undercard fights including renowned boxers such as Rayton ‘Boom Boom’ Okwiri and Tanzania’s Hassan ‘Champez’ Mwakinyo among others. Okwiri who has been training in Dubai will arrive in Nairobi on Wednesday March 20, 2019.