EX-BOXERS: TOO MUCH HOLDING IN KENYA OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Former international boxers have expressed their disappointment on what has now become an irritating habit of boxers engaging in more holding instead of scoring points with a variety of punches and displaying the finer art of boxing.
The boxers, Steve “Destimo” Muchoki, George “Mosquito” Findo, Philip Maingi, Ibrahim ” Surf” Bilali, Peter “Dynamite” Odhiambo and Kenneth “Valdez” Ochieng spoke to boxersworld.co.ke during the quarter-finals of the Kenya Open Championships at Nairobi’s Charter Hall.
They were all unanimous holding has reached an alarming level that has to be contained immediately.
“What happened to the jab, I’m not seeing boxers using it here,” said Mainge while Findo said he was so disappointed by the frequent holding he witnessed in most bouts in the Kenya Open tournament.
“I came all the way from Nakuru to be entertained, all I’m seeing is boxers holding,” said Findo.
Peter Odhiambo attributed the increasing rate of holding to poor basics.
“Most of the boxers are lacking basics. The grassroots coaches don’t teach basics properly. The era of pads and YouTube has brought a lot of mess in boxing,” said Odhiambo.
Popular Dallas Boxing Club coach Charles Mukula said fans pay to watch good boxing not boxers boring them by holding one another.
Mukula cited lack of fitness as one of the reasons contributing to this irritating habit of boxers resorting to holding each other.
“The problem we’re having now is boxers not training hard enough and going for roadwork to attain proper fitness, that’s why they turn to holding because they can’t persevere the pain of punches,” said Mukula, adding, “We’re also seeing this holding in big IBA tournaments.” The coach further suggested frequent disqualifications by the referees as one way to curb holding.
Commenting on holding, the head coach of Kenya’s national team Musa Benjamin said referees should also distinguish the difference between holding and clinching.
“The referees and boxers seem to confuse clinching (which is allowed though not for long) and holding. The latter is a foul that when repeated should invite warnings and eventually disqualifications,” said the Kenya head coach.
Some boxers often clinch to slow down the pace of their opponents, to mess up their strategy, come out of a tight corner and to recover from a heavy punch.
While clinching is not a foul, if frequently used it becomes boring and often equated to holding.
Former great Kenyan international boxers Muchoki, Bilali, Modesty Napunyi Oduori and Kamau “Pipino” Wanyoike often used clinching but in a very clever manner.
Kenyan coaches should also talk to their boxers frequently to avoid holding at all costs, and instead display good boxing to score points from all angles with a variety of punches to entertain fans and win their fights professionally.
