Like a raging hurricane she’s now planning to flatten her opponents in Africa Zone 3 tournament in Nairobi to make a big statement on her intentions in the squared circle
A captivatingly beautiful Ugandan female boxer announced her arrival at the big stage in the ring by thunder in the inaugural Mandela African Boxing Cup Championships in 2024 in Durban, South Africa.
Fatuma “The Thunder” Nabikolo threw caution to the wind to win a bronze medal in her international debut against all expectations.
Maintaining her sparkling performance locally since she started boxing in 2018 at Kololo High School, Fatuma punched her way to the semi-finals, losing to Egypt’s bantamweight Yomna Ayyad.
On her way to the semi-finals, she saw off big hitting and tough South African boxer Qasana Cwenga to set up a semi-final clash against the Egyptian boxer.
She was just within a heartbeat of romping through to the finals but as fate would have it she lost on points.
Commenting on her hard-earned victory over the South African boxer, Fatuma says: “I was really confident when I was going to play with the South African lady but I didn’t expect the power she had. And I was so happy when I beat her. Home was happy for me because I had left my people in Uganda waiting for the good news.”
What strategy did Fatuma apply to get the better of her South African opponent?
“I was blocking most her punches and countering back. And also my footwork was good. She couldn’t see me I was on the move.
“In the semi-finals my fight with the Egyptian was very close but I was surprised she won by 5-0.”
Fatuma was also among the Ugandan boxers who participated in the inaugural World Boxing Council (WBC) Amateur-Africa Boxing Union (ABU) tournament in Lagos from February 6-8, 2025, with Nigerian boxers winning the majority of bouts and securing spots in the maiden WBC Amateur Boxing World Cup in Mexico later in 2025.
“Officiating in Lagos was awful. The refs and judges were favouring the Nigerians. Not only in my weight alone but also in other weights. I hope officiating in the Zone 3 will be fair to all boxers,” says Fatuma.
The Nigeria event, supported by Yucateco Boxing Promotions, brought together boxers from eight African countries and marked a significant step in the development of amateur boxing on the continent.
Boxers from eight African countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, and Cameroon took part.
This event was the first of its kind in Africa, sanctioned by both ABU and the WBC, and served as a qualifier for the WBC World Cup in Mexico.
Nigerian boxers secured 10 out of the 11 bouts on the final day of the tournament.
The tournament was hailed as a historic moment and a new dawn for amateur boxing in Africa.
Back to Fatuma. Among her accolades include national schools title she won in 2019 and was named the best boxer. In the same year Fatuma clinched the national juniors, novices, intermediate and national titles.
“I also won a gold medal in the national championships and a belt in the Champions League in the bantamweight division in 2023.”
Fatuma singles out the South African boxer Qasana she fought in Durban as her toughest opponent so far and that was also her most memorable victory in the ring.
Her most disappointing moment was when her
opponent in one of the Champions League matches, Nalule Leila, refused to continue with the fight without any explanation.
“She refused to fight on for no reason and that was the time I wanted to entertain the fans, I was so disappointed.
“It appears she got scared of me because I was outboxing her punching her at will, she’s a coward I can say.”
I ask Fatuma – a freelance estate manager – what’s her burning ambition in boxing?
“I want to play boxing to make my life better and also build my mum a house, my aim is to become a world champion and fight on the world stage like my idol Floyd Mayweather Junior, he’s my role model.”
Does she intend to venture into professional boxing?
“Well that depends if I get a good promoter we agree on a lucrative deal but not peanuts because I’m thinking big.”
What are Fatuma’s hobbies?
“I love travelling and praying since I’m a born-again Christian, my dad is a Muslim and my mum a Christian.”
Fatuma’s favourite food is matoke, rice, pilau and fish.
“I eat one meal once in a day and that’s at 7pm, I spend the whole day eating fruits and snacks and then the meal at 7pm.
“I love fruits so much because they help me in boxing I perform well in the ring with vitamin from the fruits, this also sharpens my mind.”
On her game plan for the Africa Zone 3 Championships, Fatuma says she’s coming to Nairobi to win gold.
“I’m telling my opponents to expect hard punches because I’ve now moved up to featherweight, they will not withstand my power.”
