SUPER DUPER SHOW BY DRC, TANZANIA, UGANDA AND SIERRA LEONE BOXERS AS RAFRAFI AND HAFSA LIFT TUNISIA

Tanzania’s King Lucas  Mwajobaga and Uganda’s Ojok Alfred put up remarkable performances, three-time Africa champion Pita Kabeji of DR Congo was in a ruthless mood, Sierra Leone’s Betist Josefien Angel’s victory was a big gift to the  success-starved fans in her country while Africa Championships bronze medallist, Youssef Rafrafi, was the most impressive Tunisian winner in the first ever pro boxing show in Africa to be organised by amateur federations.

It was a night to remember in Africa boxing as hundreds of Tunisian fans gathered at the magnificent Sidi Boussaid Gymnasium to witness this historic event backed by the International Boxing Association (IBA).

Coupled with the warm hospitality and naturally friendly nature of the Tunisians, visitors from across Africa felt very much at home as some visited the sandy white beaches of the Mediterranean Sea to enjoy and marvel the beautiful scenery.

Little wonder Madagascar boxing federation Development and International Relations Officer Cyprien Tamo was reluctant to return home.

“This hospitality is unparalleled, I feel so much at home here. I’m planning to change my nationality and settle in Tunisia,” quipped Tamo

In the ring, the action-packed light-welterweight bout between Tanzania’s King Lucas Mwajobaga and Angola’s Elder Liduema was the fight of the night with the Tanzanian scoring a deserved unanimous points victory.

The Angolan boxer let the Tanzanian do most of the attacking and then he counters back but Mwajobaga and coach Batman Kapungu were fast enough to devise a strategy to handle the Angolan.

“When we realised his game plan was to let me attack with my coach, I decided to be faster than him, scoring and pulling out as quickly as possible to deny him any chance to throw his counters” the 22-year-old Mwajobaga told boxersworld.co.ke in an interview.

“He was a strong boxer preferring ambush attacks  but I was clever than him,” said soldier Mwajobaga. He started boxing in 2010 at Keko under coach Jamal Kumba and he represents Ngome Club in local competitions. There’s no doubt after his fine show in Tunis, Mwajobaga is on the threshold of joining the national team.

Uganda’s middleweight Ojok Alfred stopped Libya’s Issa Abdullah in the the first round.

He punished the Libyan with energy-sapping body blows that saw him making three trips to the canvas and received two standing counts before the referee waved it off when Abdullah visited the canvas for the third time.

Coach Muhairwe Dixon, who is a resident of Nakawa, was very impressed with Ojok’s dominant show against the Libyan.

“I’ve been training him on body blows since 2020, most boxers prefer to aim their punches to the face, body blows are equally effective,” said the Ugandan coach.

On whether Ojok, a member of Brawn Boxing Club in Kampala, had a problem adjusting to a six-round bout, Dixon said: “In uganda we have the Champions League where we go for five rounds and most his opponents drop in the second and first  rounds, therefore going six rounds was not a big deal to us.”

The President of Uganda Boxing Federation, Moses Muhangi said Ojok is one of the several Ugandan boxers they’re grooming in the Champions League.

“Uganda is building many talented boxers, we are no longer a country to rely on one or two boxers. We have a huge pool of boxers in all weight classes unlike before,” said Muhangi.

“Now no boxer or coach can hold us at ransom in Uganda, we have equally so many IBA certified coaches. And that’s what I call horizontal development of boxing not vertical.”

Sierra Leone’s featherweight Betist Josefien Angel’s points win over Tunisia’s Amal Mathloufi was not only a personal achievement but she was also the  pride to the West African country whose fans – following the action on Livestream – cheered wildly when she was declared the winner.

“This is a night to remember in Tunis singing our  national anthem in front of Tunisian fans after beating their champion,” said an excited Alhaj Koroma, the Communication Director of Sierra Leone Boxing Association.

Koroma went on: “This victory shows the commitment from the Ministry of Sports, National Sports Authority and the National Olympic Committee in providing support to Sierra Leone Boxing Association both nationally and internationally.”

Josefien could not have summed it:”For me the fight was not about winning or losing but about performing well,” she told me later after the fight, adding: “My opponent was a good girl and boxed with lots of fire in her, that’s amazing. The fight went according to our plan with my coach, our plan was just to keep it simple and have lots of fun avoiding any close exchanges.”

Josefien made her international debut in Accra, Ghana, during last year’s African Games and was eliminated in the round of 16.

For how long has Josefien been boxing? I asked her.

“I’ve been boxing for eight years now and enjoyed it. I’ve been boxing with coach Liam for 2-3 years now and I think it really improved my skills as a boxer. For now I live mostly in Ireland to continue with  my boxing career in the best possible setting. I do travel to the Netherlands lots to see my amazing family, friends and supporters I still have in Rotterdam and other places. All of this helped me get multiple Dutch and Irish national titles and a Sierra Leone elite title. Before I boxed for Sierra Leone, I secured an European medal as an IBA neutral boxer. I’m very proud of my accomplishments and can’t wait to have another chance to prove myself and every one of Sierra Leone that I can accomplish way more.”

Josefien’s coach William Brereton was happy his boxer performed according their  plan.

Said Brereton:”Josefien was the better boxer but if a fight gets messy she can loose her cool and forget to box . Tonight  I think she handled it ok will get better with experience, she’s  only just turned 21 years.”

DR Congo’s boxers were on fire displaying ferocious boxing enroute to deserved victories.

African flyweight champion Nyembo Gisele was in control of her fight against Tunisia’s Rahma Nahari whom she ruthlessly punished in all the three rounds with relentless double fisted flurries to en emphatic unanimous points win.

“My strategy tonight was to keep her busy not giving her a chance to attack me, or do anything mischievous fighting at home,” said Gisele who shed tears of joy on being declared the winner.

In the main fight, DRC’s three-time Africa champion and African Games gold medallist, Pita Kabeji was too strong for Tunisia’s Mohammed Riahi whom he stopped in the third round.

Crowd favourite,  Tunisia’s Africa Championships bronze medallist, Youssef Rafrafi, was in the driver’s seat, scoring a unanimous points victory over Cameroon’s Ngon a Ngon Brandone at light-heavyweight. He had a better work rate and hit the target more often than the Cameroonian boxer who made his international debut in the 2023 AFBC African Men’s and Women’s Championships in Yaounde. Brandon is a strong boxer but he has yet to master the techniques of punching hard using his raw power.

All the winners in the Tunisia Pro Boxing Gala Night were presented with ceremonial belts.