Daughter Of Zion: Reggae To Fire Zarika For Mercado Challenge

NAIROBI, Kenya- It is fight night. The moment when all talk, sparring, face-offs, a dose of trash talking and training comes to an end to pave way for fists and footwork to do the talking.

In professional boxing, fight nights are a culmination of months of preparations and on Saturday (September 8) Kenya’s capital Nairobi will be the focus of the boxing world when it hosts one of the most-awaited title bouts this year.

Home girl Fatuma ‘Iron Fist’ Zarika will step into the ring to defend her women’s World Boxing Council (WBC) Super Bantamweight belt against fast-rising Mexican challenger, Yamileth Mercado at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), Nairobi.

As usual, boxing title showdowns come complete with a series of undercard fights, entertainment, VIPs on the red carpet, model besides all the glitz and glamour in between and on Saturday, the prevailing chill in the Kenyan capital will be thawed by a fight billed to go down the annals of the country’s boxing history regardless of the outcome.

Kinshasa, the seat of Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire) hosted the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ on October 30, 1974. Manila, the capital of Philippines organised ‘Thriller in Manila’ on October 1 the following year.

On both occasions, arguably the greatest boxer of all time, heavyweight Mohammed Ali cemented his legacy when he defeated George ‘Big George’ Foreman and Joe ‘Smokin Joe’ Frazier via technical knockout to be crowned the world champion.

On Saturday, Zarika is aiming to cut a slice of her own history when she puts her title on the line against Mercado in a rumble billed ‘Nairobi Fight Night’ and SportPesa News caught up with her after an easy workout in Nairobi to establish what goes through her mind on fight night and her routine.

Rough estates 

For starters, the WBC champion prefers to come down the ramp to the ring with reggae music blaring around the auditorium in a nod to her humble upbringing in the rough estates of Nairobi where the genre enjoys massive appeal.

"I have not yet selected the tune that I will enter the ring with for now but reggae uplifts my spirit. I don’t prefer the modern hip hop or dance music my peers like as their entry songs,” Zarika, 34, stated with a chuckle.

With seconds counting out, she gave insight what goes through a boxer’s mind in those critical moments before the opening bell to the first round.

"When entering the ring, there’s no song that plays on mind. What goes through your head is what kind of punch to unload and floor the opponent in the first round and end the fight there and then,” she Zarika confided.

As she learned last December when Zambian Catherine Phiri took her through a brutal slugfest before prevailing on unanimous decision in Nairobi, sometimes the well-laid plans can encounter a brick wall.

That is when the resilience, character and will to see out the contest comes into play and hope the centre referee will lift your hand as the winner when the beating stops.

"When the going gets tough and the fight is becoming hard, you only think about the things you’ve been taught. At that moment, you think of walking, not fighting to give yourself a chance to recover and soldier on,” she revealed.

Hood swag

Zarika and Mercado will walk into a cauldron of excited, cheering or booing fans at the Comesa Grounds of KICC on Saturday but according to the titleholder, the fighters involved block all the din around them.

"As you walk into the ring, your mind cannot be on the fans. You wonder how the opponent has prepared, how will they box? How I’m I supposed to box? You appear to be strong but a lot of things are racing through your mind at that moment.”

With a coterie of trainers, promoters and other lackeys in the dressing room firing last minute instructions in a bid to sway the fight in their boxer’s favour, the last people Zarika prefers to engage with are her children in the minutes leading to the walk down to the arena.

"They give me a hug before I leave since I do this for them," was the candid admission.

Victory, according to her, brings a thrill that only few can enjoy bearing in mind all the hard work put into preparing for a single fight.

"You must have trained well, be fit and have enough energy to last 10 rounds. Anyone who has never stepped into a ring might think we’re playing and they do not understand being there for 10 rounds is not a joke.

"Just to throw a punch and move is tiring. You are fighting at the same time defending against the opponent’s punches while moving around the ring all the time

And why do boxers prefer to emerge for title fights with hoods covering their heads?

"That is just swag, there is no meaning to it really,” she replied in glowing laughter.

With that, the bubbling fighter left to see the rest of her day off as the hours, minutes and seconds tick by to her meeting with destiny.