A 10-day training stint in Havana, Cuba, ahead of Kenya’s participation in last year’s Africa Olympic qualifiers in Dakar, Senegal, was the perfect catalyst that persuaded Boniface Mogunde to adopt the Cuban approach in the AFBC African Men’s and Women’s Boxing Championships in DR Congo’s capital city, Kinshasa in October this year.
Training alongside Cuba’s great boxers such as five-time world champion and twice Olympic Games gold medallist Julio Cesar La Cruz further boosted the morale of Mogunde and the rest of the Kenyan boxers led by head coach Musa Benjamin assisted by David Munuhe and John Waweru.
So mesmerised was Mogunde that he decided to adopt Cuba’s boxing style under the strategic guidance of head coach Benjamin who spotted Mogunde’s potential in 2013, and has since gradually nurtured him eventually guiding Mogunde to Kenya’s first gold medal in the Africa Championships in seven years, a big achievement for Benjamin by any standards.
The Cuban style of boxing, spiced by graceful footwork, clean scoring punches, distance management, steady defence and a pawing jab to confuse their opponents, is epitomised by their legends such as La Cruz and towering three-time Olympic heavyweight champion Teofilo Stevenson whose explosive right punch and perfect timing, exploiting his opponent’s weaknesses, earned him worldwide admiration.
La Cruz is a joy to watch with his simplistic approach that embodies the fundamental aim of boxing: to score points with clean punches and avoid being hit in return.
While Mogunde may not have fully perfected Cuban boxing, he has borrowed some of their techniques that worked wonders for him in Kinshasa, and carefully following instructions from his mentor, the Kenyan head coach Musa Benjamin who said the final against Burundi’s Nestor Nduwarugira was the easiest of the three bouts.
“Nestor is very aggressive but technically and tactically lacking boxer, so the plan was just to stick and move with occasional three-punch combos to keep him off balance fighting at a distance,” said Benjamin who, like Mogunde, is equally satisfied by their Havana training.
“Training in Cuba though short was great as it polished Bonny’s style of keeping distance, using his footwork to put himself in good counter punching positions,” said Benjamin.
Mogunde’s slick approach turned out to be a nightmare to Burundi’s Nduwarugira who chased shadows completely unable to connect on the mobile Kenyan boxer who would hit his opponent when he wanted and avoid being punched.
“I’m so disappointed I couldn’t land my strong punches on my Kenyan opponent, he was always running away and moving,” Nduwarugira told me in an interview after the fight. I’m sure he has now realised it’s not easy to hit a moving object.
Mogunde, who joined Kenya Police in 2016, still savours his most accomplished achievement since making his debut for the national team in the 2019 African Games in Rabat, Morocco, where he settled for a bronze medal in the welterweight division.
“It feels incredible knowing that I have achieved something significant on behalf of my country I’m much humbled,” said Mogunde singling out Morocco’s Abidine Amroug as his toughest opponent in Kinshasa. He floored the Moroccan in the second round with a powerful right cross.
Explaining why he has adopted the Cuban style of boxing, Mogunde said: “The reason why I like the Cuban way of boxing is that they normally focus on scoring points with clean technical punches rather than aiming for a knockout.
“They most apply techniques and exceptional footwork which allows them to move quickly around the ring, avoid punches and create angles to land clean shots.”
Indeed Mogunde is a master at scoring points with neat punches and rarely holds his opponents.
Little wonder Nelson Otieno, a 1-Star referee and judge and chairman of the Boxing Federation of Kenya R&J Commission enjoys officiating Mogunde’s fights.
“Mogunde is one very disciplined and stylish boxers we have in Kenya today. To be honest you enjoy officiating his bouts either as a judge or a referree because his punches are clean just like Shaffi Bakari. Very easy to score his fights unlike some boxers who throw so many off-target and foul punches that it becomes so difficult to score in their fights,
Without a doubt Mogunde is going places if he continues with that Cuban approach,” said Otieno also known as Jaluo Jeuri.
BFK’s Communication Director Duncan Kuria aka Sugar Ray, himself a former international boxer, regards Mogunde highly.
“He has wonderful ringcraft which puts him head and shoulders above the rest,” said Kuria and went on:”He also has power which most of his opponents underestimate until they get caught by his powerful right punch that he likes combining with a left hook. I believe he is at his best when he is boxing from outside. His weakness is sometimes he loses his concentration and gets caught that’s how he has suffered a few knockouts internationally. His category is loaded therefore he has to be at his best to keep winning against top talented boxers in Africa and the world. For example during both Olympic qualifiers there were 72 boxers in his weight seeking four tickets only.”
Kuria feels locally Mogunde lacks adequate competition.
“What Mogunde needs now is good fights regionally, continentally and globally to give him the right preparation for 2028 Olympic Games qualifiers,” said Kuria, a product of Dallas Boxing Club, and was himself a stylish boxer with carefully calculated punches.
One of Mogunde’s most memorable victories was sensational second round knockout over Morocco’s 2016 Olympic Games bronze medallist Mohamed Rabii during last year’s Africa Olympic qualifiers but the Kenyan bowed out in the second round following a points loss to Lesotho’s Michael Pakela.
Rabii, a professional boxer, has since then decided to pursue his career in the bare-chested game seemingly not ready to be embarrassed again.
Mogunde started boxing in 2013 at Embakasi Boxing Club under coaches Wilfred Andare and Bernard Otieno. He wanted to emulate American celebrity Floyd Mayweather Junior.
National team head coach Musa Benjamin then took over when spotted Mogunde’s potential in the national novices championships.
Benjamin further narrates his journey to the top with Mogunde:”I took up Bonny just after his novices and intermediates in 2013 after noticing his potential. I then threw him to the deep end immediately after working on his basics.
“We took him to Dar es Salaam for Inter-Cities then the trials for 2018 Commonwealth Games where he lost to my other boxer, Dennis Okoth “Bilabong”
“I was personally elated and very happy for him too because I believe the elusive gold medal in the Africa Championships was overdue. He deserved it. He’s a humble, disciplined boxer willing to learn and very hard working.
“After seven years and coming close in Maputo 2022, Kenya really deserved gold in Kinshasa.”
Mogunde is very grateful to Benjamin and his team of coaches for their professional guidance.
“They’ve helped me a lot in guidance and strategies and providing vision, correcting my mistakes and setting a firm foundation to my performance,” said Mogunde.
“Most of the time they’ve been encouraging me to understand what I need to improve on and motivating me.”
Like the Cubans who have excelled through the implementation of a standardized training system initiated by the government from early 1960s, Benjamin told me during the Africa Championships in Kinshasa that’s the way to go.
“We have plans underway to introduce a unified coaching system in Kenya from the grassroots up to the national level, we know what we’re doing but we remain silent,” said Benjamin.
