On Saturday night, Mozambique revalidated its title as Zone IV (Southern Africa) boxing champion, maintaining its regional hegemony in another event held in the city of Maputo..

According to the newspaper ChallengeWith a total of 14 medals, including eight gold, three silver and three bronze, the country beat off competition from Botswana, which this time had a reduced delegation.

The Tswanas finished in second place, while Lesotho took the final spot on the podium.

The Seychelles took fourth place, while Eswatini finished fifth and last.

In fact, there were only five countries at this event, which took place from February 26 to March 1 at the Estrela Vermelha Pavilion, also known as the cathedral of Mozambican boxing.

For various reasons, there were many absences from countries that are usually part of this competition, including South Africa, a strong contender for the title, Zambia, which came second in the last edition, which was also held in Maputo, and Angola.

Countries from the region that have participated intermittently were also absent from the Maputo summit. These are Malawi, Zimbabwe, the Comoros and Namibia.

With Saturday's title, that makes three for Mozambique in the last four editions, namely 2018, 2022 and now 2025.

The country's regional hegemony has become increasingly noticeable, at a time when Mozambique has been given a lot of attention at continental level, especially due to the recent international performances of boxers such as Alcinda dos Santos, Rady Gramane, Tiago Muxanga and Solomone Júlio, the latter three of whom were absent from the Maputo "Regional".

(Photo DR)