The battle for supremacy in the Kenya National Boxing League got off to a low-key start in the first leg in Busia from May 15-17.
In the absence of their bitter rivals defending champions KDF, Police dominated the Busia show taking an early lead with 24 points followed by Nairobi 14 points and Nakuru County third with 10.
The highlight of the three-day league was the flyweight final between the Kenya Open champion Diouf “Bashday” Muimi and Nairobi County’s Emmanuel “Manu” Chondo with the promising Muimi having the last laugh outpointing Chondo 3-0.
Nairobi’s coach John Ochieng aka Chair was however not impressed with the officiating in the flyweight final and featherweight semi-final between his boxer Chris Juma and Africa bronze medallist Shaffi Bakari.
“As far as I’m concerned Manu and Chris won their fights, even Shaffi knows it he lost,” said Ochieng.
“It’s so demoralising for us boxers to see the judges giving victory to a boxer who didn’t deserve it, I beat Shaffi 3-0,” said Chris Juma.
Reacting to coach Ochieng’s views on his flyweight final against Chondo, Muimi said: “I’m surprised they are complaining again, I don’t know what to say, I beat Manu 3-0, let them just accept the result fairly. I said Manu will not beat me again.”
It’s time BFK used the big stick on some rogue judges tarnishing their image with questionable decisions. Let’s see professionalism maintained in the remaining league matches by the well trained R&Js.
The first leg of the league featured 49 boxers – 41 men and eight women.
Defending champions KDF, Prisons, Kibra and Mombasa County were some of the regulars missing in action.
Perhaps it’ll be more fitting to start the league at the end of July after the government’s financial year starts in June.
With the first leg over, action moves to Kenya’s port city of Mombasa for the second leg of the league from July 17-19 in which the winners and losers in the finals will receive prize money courtesy of Alliance Francaise.
