▪️Libya Boxing Federation President Abdulkarim Manit recalls his fight with Kenya’s Abdulrahman Athuman aka Assu
October 24, 2026
KINSHASA, DR Congo – As the action heats up on Day Three of the 22nd edition of the Africa Elite Boxing Championships here in Kinshasa, memories of Kenya’s Golden Era of boxing dominance continue to take center stage.
Forty-seven years ago, Libya’s current boxing federation president, Abdulkarim Manit (pictured), went toe-to-toe with Kenya’s Abdulrahman Athman, popularly known as “Assu,” in the finals of the 1979 Africa Elite Boxing Championships in Benghazi.
It was a tournament where Kenya asserted its continental supremacy, capturing the overall title while Libya finished as runners-up.
Meeting Manit in Kinshasa today, the Libyan boxing boss vividly recalls how the tactical Kenyan boxer outwitted him en route to a unanimous points victory.
“I had never met such a clever boxer,” Manit told boxersworld.co.ke. “I was shorter than him, so he took advantage of his height to keep me at a distance. I was frustrated because I couldn’t get closer to him.”
Manit’s journey from that ring to his current leadership role reflects the turbulent history of the sport in his home country. He recalled how the late Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi slapped a 38-year ban on international boxing from 1980 to 2018.
“He didn’t like boxing; he said it was a brutal sport,” Manit explained.
Today, October 24, 2026, the focus shifts firmly back to the canvas as Manit looks to guide a new generation of Libyan fighters on Day Three of the ongoing African Championships. Starting at 3:00 PM local time (5:00 PM East African Time), two of Libya’s finest are scheduled for crucial bouts.
In the welterweight division, Tariq Ahmed Alalawi will battle Mali’s Fousseni Traore while light-middleweight Mohammed Saeid Othman faces a daunting test against Burundi’s Nestor Nduwarugira, the 2024 Africa Championships silver medalist.
While Libya fights to rebuild its continental footprint after decades in the dark, the ghost of Kenya’s clever ring mastery from the 1960s to early 1990s remains a gold standard here in Kinshasa.
boxersworld.co.ke
