▪️Mozambican Armando Sigauque regards Ghana’s Amadu Mohamed as an intruder
▪️Ivanusa Moreira moves up to middleweight; likely to face Rady Gramane in the finals
▪️Jaguar on the prowl: Joseph Commey favoured for the gold
▪️Redemption or ruin? Chloe Gabriel favoured to gun down Nshimirimana to set up Mwape rematch
▪️DR Congo’s Nlandu could face Namibia’s Ipinge in the finals again
▪️Plus today’s quarterfinal bouts and Saturdays full results
October 25, 2026
The stage is set, the tension is palpable, and the stakes could not be higher.
It’s now or never! The 2026 Africa Elite Boxing Championships explode into the quarter-finals today, October 25, 2026, with a stacked card of 22 high-octane fights.
As regional prides and personal vendettas collide in the ring, here is how the most thrilling matchups shape up for a historic day of leather-throwing action.
The Ultimate Collision: Sigauque vs. Mohammed
The undisputed bout of the day belongs to the men’s featherweight division. It is a classic clash of styles, egos, and territory:
• The Rivalry: Mozambique’s African Games silver medallist and 2022 Africa champion Armando Sigauque views Ghana’s Amadu Mohammed as an outright intruder. Mohammed, the celebrated African Games champion and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, has boldly stepped up from bantamweight to stake his claim in the featherweight yard.
Expect a toe-to-toe exchange in this bout of the day.
• The Dynamic: This is a pure battle between a hard-nosed fighter and an elusive boxer. Expect fists to fly and fireworks to explode in an absolute thriller that has all the ingredients of a classic.
Rising Tension in the female bouts
The women’s divisions feature two pivotal bouts loaded with tournament-altering implications:
• Bantamweight battle: Mauritian star Chloe Gabriel takes on Burundi’s Lilliane Nshimirimana. Gabriel enters as the favorite, driven by the burning desire for a redemption arc. If she wins, she sets up a blockbuster October 28 semifinal rematch with Zambia’s Catherine Mwape—the very woman who knocked her out of the Commonwealth Games quarter-finals in Glasgow.
• The Return of the champion: Cape Verde’s formidable 2023 Africa welterweight champion, Ivanusa Moreira, makes her highly anticipated return after a three-year hiatus in the continental event. Moving up to middleweight, she faces Congo’s Nkokolo Lembe today. The prize for the victor? A semifinal date with DR Congo’s Benedicte Mvamba on October 28. Analysts are already whispering about a dream final between Moreira and Mozambique’s two-time Africa champion, Rady Gramane, who sits waiting in the semis.
Contenders and defending kings
The rest of the card is a minefield of regional rivalries and champions defending their crowns:
• The clear path to gold: Ghana’s African Games champion Joseph “Jaguar” Commey has moved up to light-welterweight. He is heavily favored to eliminate Congo’s Loulendo Merci today. With the division blown wide open after a highly controversial ringside doctor’s decision ruled out Zambia’s world bronze medalist Emmanuel Katema, Commey is now the roaring favorite for gold.
• Defending titleholders: Cameroon’s minimumweight king Wouang Marcial puts his legacy on the line against Mauritius’s Soupprayen Mathieu. Meanwhile, DR Congo’s light-heavyweight powerhouse Nlandu Mbeli Nathan is set to trade leather with Sierra Leone’s Bafor Tamba.
• Regional warfare: Zambia’s world quarter-finalist Mwengo Mwale locks horns with close neighbor Ledson Patson, while Namibia’s 2024 Africa silver medallist Gebhard Ipinge goes toe-to-toe with Angola’s Tchitoma Lukengo. Ipinge and Nlandu could meet in the final again like it happened in 2024.
Meanwhile eight thrilling welterweight bouts were the highlight in Saturdays (October 24) pulsating round of 16 bouts with DR Congo leading the way by putting three boxers in the quarter-finals. Cameroon and Zimbabwe had two each with Eswatini’s Thabiso Dlamini once again failing to advance to the medal bracket.
Making his third appearance in the African Elite Championships, Thabiso lost on bout review decision 5-2 to Ndziki Ngatoum of Congo Brazzaville at welter.
“I’m so disappointed in the judging because everyone in the stadium congratulated me on displaying good boxing so those words motivated to work even harder, dreams delayed are not dreams denied,” Thabiso told boxersworld.co.ke.
“This is demotivating when you do everything then something like this happens but we go to the drawing board we will come back stronger.”
DR Congo’s defending light-heavyweight champion Nlandu Mbeli Nathan was in a ruthless mood, stopping Chad’s Sindigue Baglong in the second round.
Nlandu’s compatriots, welterweight Ilunga Musuasua and light-middleweight Disasu Yenge also cruised to the quarters with the former getting a walkoveri against Gabon’s Mathanga Ignoungou while Disasu outpointed Mali’s Diallo Bakari 5-2 bout review decision in the most entertaining fight of the day.
Elsewhere, Zambia’s African Games welterweight champion Gerald Kabinda advanced to the quarters with a dominant points win over Angola’s Luzolo Inoque, and now meets Mali’s Fousseyni Traore.
Uganda’s Lukwago Sadick beat Senegal’s Diop Papa Mor with mixed fortunes for Lesotho and two Libyan boxers falling by the wayside.
Lesotho’s Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Pooana Khoahli punched his way to the quarters but his compatriot Thai Refiloe lost to Zimbabwe’s Ndlovu Christian via a first round knockout.
Burundi’s light-middleweight Africa silver medallist Nestor Nduwarugira stopped Libya’s Mohammad Saeid in the second round. Nestor now meets Miere Ngalekani of Congo in the quarters.
