▪️Tshama heads to mining-rich Kolwezi in southeastern DR Congo for a pro contest warm-up ahead of IBA Africa Elite Championships
September 21, 2026
DR Congo’s David Tshama has a singular, burning ambition for this year’s IBA African Elite Boxing Championships on home turf in Kinshasa: capturing a historic third middleweight gold medal.
The two-time African champion will fine-tune his skills on September 25 in Kolwezi, fighting on the high-profile undercard of Ilunga Makabu’s WBC Africa cruiserweight title defense against Georgian Irakli Alanidze.
The Kolwezi show, supported by the Lualaba government led by Governor Fifi Masuka Sainu, is being promoted by DR Congo’s top promoter Ferdinand Ilunga Luyoyo who is also the head of Congolese federation and the Interim President of IBA Africa.
Commenting on the Tanzanian opponent he’s facing in Kolwezi for his defense of ABU middleweight title, Tshama, unbeaten in three fights as a pro, acknowledged it’s not an easy task.
“I’m facing a very experienced Tanzanian opponent, it’ll be a tough fight,” said Tshama who started boxing in 2005 at home in Lubumbashi with Njanja Club.
At the 2024 Africa Championships in Kinshasa, Tshama electrified a packed, roaring crowd at the Stade des Martyrs, outlasting Mali’s world bronze medalist Djibril Traore in the semi-finals and Morocco’s Yassine El Quarz in the finals to claim gold.
Looking ahead to the 2026 championships, the Congolese boxer views Morocco’s silver medallist in Kinshasa 2024 Yassine El Quarz as the major stumbling block.
“He was my toughest opponent in 2024,” Tshama told boxersworld.co.ke.
“The Malian doesn’t worry me because he has almost the same boxing style as me, so I won’t have any trouble beating him. I know the Moroccan will come back strong to dethrone me. I am preparing accordingly, and I think I will beat him once again.”
Tshama would have enjoyed fighting Kenya’s African Games middleweight champion Edwin Okong’o for the third time but it won’t happen since Kenya has skipped the Kinshasa showdown.
“Edwin is a tough boxer and is my good friend, I’ve beaten him twice but it was not easy,” said Tshama. He twice defeated Okong’o at the 2021 and 2022 Africa Zone 3 Championships in Kinshasa.
“I was with Edwin in the Accra African Games, I was happy to see him win gold by beating Moroccan boxer (Yassine El Quarz) in the finals, he’s the one who beat me in Accra and then I avenged the defeat in Kinshasa 2024.”
In retrospect, Tshama had a monumental breakout period between 2020 and 2021, establishing himself as a top African boxing talent on both the professional and amateur circuits.
On December 19, 2020, the Congolese boxer officially transitioned into the professional ranks by capturing the vacant African Boxing Union (ABU) African middleweight title.
Fighting in front of a home crowd at Studio Mama Angebi in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tshama defeated South Africa’s Augustin Matata via a unanimous points decision over 12 rounds.
Tshama earned his ticket to the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics during the African qualification tournament in Dakar. At the Games in Japan, he was given the high honor of being the opening ceremony flagbearer for the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Competing in the men’s middleweight (69–75kg) division, Tshama made waves with a strong opening performance.
In the round of 32, he secured a thrilling split-decision victory (3-2) over Cameroon’s highly regarded Wilfred Ntsengue.
He faced Haiti’s Darrelle Valsaint in the pre-quarters. Though Tshama fought aggressively, he was ultimately eliminated via a tight 4-1 decision, falling just short of the quarter-finals.
boxersworld.co.ke
