| Catherine Phiri | |
| Weight: | |
| Birth Place: | Lusaka, Zambia |
| Total: | 21 |
| Wins: | 16 |
| Ko: | 10 |
| Losses: | 5 |
Catherine Phiri is a Zambian professional boxer. She held the WBC female bantamweight title from 2016 to 2017 and challenged twice for the WBC female super-bantamweight title in 2017 and 2019.
Phiri debuted on 25 July 2011 when she defeated Zambian boxer Esther Chalwe at the National Sports Development Centre in Lusaka.[1] She won the WBC female bantamweight title by defeating reigning champion Yazmín Rivas on 30 January 2016 in Mexico.[2] She became the first Zambian to win a WBC title.[3]
Her 13th fight was on 27 August 2016 at Lusaka's Government Complex where she retained her WBC title with a first-round stoppage victory against Gabisile Tshabalala.[4] She lost the title in her next fight, suffering the second defeat of her career against Mariana Juárez on 1 April 2017, in Mexico City, Mexico.[5]
On 17 December 2016, she was honoured by the World Boxing Council for being the first boxer from Africa to win the WBC bantamweight title.[6] On 2 November 2017, she was defeated by Fatuma Zarika in a WBC super-bantamweight title fight, losing by unanimous decision with the judges' scorecards reading 97–92, 98–91 and 99–92. Zarika was the defending champion.[7]
A rematch between Phiri and Zarika took place on 3 March 2019 at Kenyatta International Convention Centre, Nairobi, Kenya with the WBC title again on the line. Zarika won by unanimous decision.[8]
Phiri faced Zimbabwe's Kudakwashe Chiwandire for the vacant WBC female interim super-bantamweight title on 26 February 2022, at the Government Complex in Lusaka, Zambia, losing by split decision.[9]
Phiri was suspended from all boxing activities for two years in October 2022, after being found to have used a banned substance. She tested positive for the diuretic furosemide after her loss to Chiwandire in February. Phiri admitted her guilt and her ban was backdated to start from May 2022.[10] [11] [12] [13]
Catherine Phiri was also given an academic scholarship from the Justina Mutale Foundations Scholarship Programme on 9 June 2016. She is expected to go and study Sports Management at the European School of Economics in Italy.[14] President of Zambia Edgar Chagwa Lungu honoured Catherine Phiri with the Zambia insignia of meritorious achievement award for her accomplishment on Africa Freedom Day, 25 May 2017.[15]
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Loss | 16–5 | Kudakwashe Chiwandire | SD | 10 | 26 Feb 2022 | ||
| 20 | Loss | 16–4 | Fatuma Zarika | UD | 10 | 23 Mar 2019 | ||
| 19 | Win | 16–3 | Asandiswa Nxokwana | TKO | 2 (8), | 13 Oct 2018 | ||
| 18 | Win | 15–3 | Halima Yazidu | KO | 2 (8), | 28 Apr 2018 | ||
| 17 | Win | 14–3 | Rukia Nasirite | TKO | 2 (6), | 30 Dec 2017 | ||
| 16 | Loss | 13–3 | Fatuma Zarika | UD | 10 | 2 Dec 2017 | ||
| 15 | Win | 13–2 | Flora Machela | KO | 1 (6), | 2 Jul 2017 | ||
| 14 | Loss | 12–2 | Mariana Juárez | UD | 10 | 1 Apr 2017 | ||
| 13 | Win | 12–1 | Gabisile Tshabalala | TKO | 1 (10), | 27 Aug 2016 | ||
| 12 | Win | 11–1 | Yazmín Rivas | 6 (10), | 30 Jan 2016 | |||
| 11 | Loss | 10–1 | Christina McMahon | 10 | 2 May 2015 | |||
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Bukiwe Nonina | TKO | 2 (10) | 22 Nov 2014 | ||
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Joyce Chileshe | PTS | 4 | 3 May 2014 | ||
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Pia Mazelanik | KO | 3 (10), | 15 Mar 2014 | ||
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Hawa Daku | 8 (10) | 28 Sep 2013 | |||
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Leslie Domingo | 2 (10) | 23 Mar 2013 | |||
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Nathalie Forget | UD | 10 | 20 Oct 2012 | ||
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Hamisa Willy | 4 (6), | 31 Mar 2012 | |||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Diana Makumbe | UD | 4 | 29 Oct 2011 | ||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Cicilia Pitiseni | 4 | 3 Sep 2011 | |||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Esther Chalwe | 4 | 28 May 2011 | |||