MARIE JOELLE MAKES A SUCCESSFUL PRO DEBUT
DR Congo’s Mandela Cup gold medallist Marie Joelle Mwika made a successful pro debut by outpointing compariot Eyenga Fila Dimunto on Friday, September 26, in Kinshasa.
Marie, one of the top DR Congo’s female boxers, was on top of her game in the four-round heavyweight bout, overwhelming Fila from Matadi, the chief sea port of DR Congo and the capital of Kongo Central Province.
“I’m very happy I’ve fulfilled my ambition of fighting in professional boxing, my opponent never troubled me,” Marie Joelle told boxersworld.co.ke in an interview from Kinshasa where she is preparing for the Africa Zone 3 Championships next month in Nairobi. In the 2024 Africa Elite Championships in Kinshasa she lost to Kenya’s Liz Andiego at light-heavyweight.
“Tell Andiego I’m coming for her, she didn’t win in Kinshasa,” quipped the burly 25-year-old Marie Joelle whose younger sister, 23-year-old Africa welterweight champion Brigitte Mbabi, is also a pro boxer and is so far unbeaten in four fights.
Their last-born sister, 20-year-old Mulanga Meta, is unsurprisingly an aspiring boxer, all of them following in the footsteps of their late dad and coach Mwika Bamanya Emmanuel Blaise who was a former boxer.
With her dad gone, Marie Joelle said their mum, Mbabi Brigitte, is their inspiration.
“My mother is addicted to boxing she loves the game so much, she’s our number one fan,” said lovely Marie Joelle.
Besides winning gold in the inaugural Mandela African Boxing Cup Championships in 2024 in Durban, South Africa, Marie Joelle won silver and bronze in the 2023 and 2024 Africa Elite Championships in Yaounde respectively and a silver medal at the Accra African Games.
She said she turned pro to make more money and fight regularly because of the few tournaments in Africa’s amateur boxing scene. To ensure she is managed professionally, Marie Joelle has signed a two-year contract with Kinshasa-based Rudy’s Sports Firm
