▪️Thrilling preliminary bouts marked the first day of the Kenya National Boxing League third leg in Vihiga County with pro boxer Elizabeth Akinyi in the mix
August 21, 2026
Self-proclaimed flyweight “Landlord” Kelvin “Young” Maina of KDF found himself evicted by his regular “tenant”, national champion Emmanuel Omollo of Police shot blanks again, a third battle between Africa silver medallist Samuel Njau of KDF and rising star Ben Juma looms large as international Elizabeth Akinyi made a comeback to amateur boxing in the third leg of the Kenya National Boxing League at the open air Vihiga County playground of Thursday, August 20, 2026.
A fuming African Military Games flyweight champion Kelvin Maina was unhappy with the decision in his bout against Abdallah Juma of Police who beat him 3-2.
“I was surprised how I lost because I knew I’ve scored enough to win the fight,” Maina told boxersworld.co.ke in an interview, adding: “This is a boxer I’ve beaten more than four times, he was also shocked he won, it’s very demoralising when judges get their scores wrong, anyway we shall meet again in the fourth leg.” Maina stopped Juma in the second leg of the league in Mombasa in July. Maina will now stay in the cold briefly as he awaits to avenge the defeat in the fourth leg in Kisumu.
National lightweight champion Emmanuel Omollo (Police) suffered his second straight loss, falling to Africa bronze medallist Vincent Aloice (Prisons), coming hot on the heels of another defeat by Samuel Njau in the second leg in Mombasa.
There’s war in today’s semi-finals at light-welterweight. National champion Ayub Waweru of Sombea crushed Kisumu’s Fidel Castro to set up a fiery rematch with Aloice Vincent, whom Waweru previously beat in Nakuru.
KDF’s 2022 Africa silver medallist Samuel Njau is on a collision course for a third meeting with rising star Ben Juma (Kasarani Youth). Juma has already beaten Njau twice this year. Both won their preliminaries on Thursday.
KDF’s light-welterweight Pius Macharia is set for a fourth clash against national novices champion Elvis Lincoln (Kasarani) in the semi-finals, a man he has already beaten three times.
Jericho-bred international warrior Joseph Shigali “msee wa ndechu” has moved up a weight class to light-middleweight, and is on track to meet stubborn Africa Zone 3 silver medallist Alvin “Liwaloliwe” Oduor in the finals in what will be a Jericho vs Mbotela fight. Alvin is a product of renowned Mbotela Boxing Club coach Raphael Kamuya aka Kamwana.
World Championships quarterfinalist Robert Okaka aka Man Ngori is poised to dominate the light-heavyweight division, eyeing a Saturday final showdown against Police’s Cosby Ouma whom he has defeated over three times now.
Olympian Elizabeth Akinyi (Kentrack), now campaigning as a pro, made a roaring amateur comeback after over a year out, defeating Juliet Opondo of Kisumu in the middleweight category while Africa youth flyweight bronze medallist Clinton Omondi of Nairobi County stepped up to test the seniors, booking a semi-final minimumweight date with KDF’s Ali Mohammed.
KDF enters this leg with all the momentum after winning both the Nakuru and Mombasa legs.
KDF: 49 points
Kenya Police (Defending Champions): 38 points
Sombea (Nakuru): 16 points
Kasarani Youth: 14 points
Prisons: 10 points.The three-day tournament has attracted a total of 82 boxers (67 men and 15 women) representing 16 clubs.
