SAKOBI MATSHU Marcelat

General
EARLY DAYS
She found boxing difficult initially and quit soon after trying it. She was inspired to give the sport another go after watching Congolese boxer Iluga Makabu train at her club, and she had her first fight just four months later. "At first I didn't like boxing. I always found it too tough for me. After I tried it, I had pain everywhere. I couldn't walk for a day. Boxing was too difficult for me so I left. When I then saw Makabu boxing in my club, he inspired me to box. After watching him, he gave me the inspiration to take up boxing. I was really afraid when I climbed on stage for my first real fight because I had just four months of training. It was 2014 when I won a fight for the first time. I then won a champion of Kinshasa prize, which meant I had to beat three fighters from different communes in the city. When I won that Kinshasa prize, I won 10 US dollars. Such a small reward for so much work. Boxing for money really isn't a concept here." (olympicchannel.com, 26 Feb 2020; theguardian.com, 14 Jul 2017)