Cruiserweight boxer Limbani Lano has turned down a K6 million purse to fight South African Mike Schutte.

The Malawian boxer was supposed to travel to Pakistan to face the South African on February 5 2023 in an eight round non-title main supporting bout organised by Pakistan Boxing Council (PBC) in Karachi.

The offer letter for the bout indicates that apart from the K6 million, the organisers would also meet all logistics such as travel expenses.

However, in an interview Lano, who has fought 19 bouts, won 10, lost eight and drew one, said he turned down the offer for fear of his life.

With memories still fresh of a  defeat he suffered in sixth of the 10-round light heavyweight non-title main bout in South Africa on October 17 last year to former IBO world champion Thomas Oosthuizen, Lano does not want to take chances.

He said: “Boxing is a sport that you can lose your life if you are not careful. I cannot just accept to travel to Pakistan for the sake of money.

“I need to weigh in and look at my life first. At the current state, I am not fully prepared to travel to Pakistan for the fight despite the good package they are offering me.

“Life is precious than money. It is better I wait untill I prepare well for such offers.”

Malawi Professional Boxing Control Board (MPBCB) recently introduced rules preventing unfit boxers from securing international clearance.

However, the inevitable happened last Saturday when three local boxers suffered embarrassing defeats in Zambia.

Female boxer Agness Lewis lost to Violet Phiri .

The Malawian lasted only 23 seconds.

Her compatriot, Mussa Mkwanda, lost in the second round to Mbachi Kaonga of Zambia.

He was sent down with a flurry of punches.

Another Malawian boxer Yusuf Ali lost on points to Zambian Gracious Simwalizi.

In an interview, MPBCB director of research and information Gibson Chisale applauded Lano for his decision not  to fight.

He said: “We have learnt a lot from embarrassing defeat we got last Saturday in Zambia due to poor preparation ahead of the bout. What happened is not healthy to our boxers.

“We don’t have to accept anything that comes for the sake of money. It is nice that Lano has turned down the offer to travel to Pakistan after noting that he is not fully prepared for the fight.”

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