▪️World bantamweight champion Widad Bertal aka Stinging Bee robbed against Italian opponent
▪️Morocco now eyes third African title in a row in Kinshasa
August 28, 2026
The Moroccan boxing team has cemented its status as Africa’s ultimate ring superpower, dominating the continent’s standings at the just-concluded Mediterranean Games in Italy.
Morocco fought its way to a deserved third-place overall finish, scooping two gold, one silver, and three bronze medals. They were just behind tournament winners Spain (4-2-0) and hosts Italy (4-0-3), leaving their continental rivals far behind.
The triumph was made even sweeter as Morocco completely outclassed arch-rivals Algeria, who finished a distant eighth with zero gold medals (0-3-2), followed by Egypt in 10th (0-1-1) and Tunisia in 15th (0-0-1).
Moroccan golden run was spearheaded by 2023 Africa featherweight champion Soulaymane Samghouli (65kg) and Africa light-middleweight champion Saida Lahmidi, who both captured gold. Defending Africa light-flyweight champion Yasmin Mouttaki, Africa welterweight champion Nadir Abdelhak, and continental silver medallist Toutire Mounia added to the impressive haul by bringing home three bronze medals.
However, the tournament was not without controversy. Nabil Hilmi, the Vice President of the Royal Moroccan Boxing Federation, expressed fierce disappointment over the officiating in the women’s bantamweight final. He claimed that reigning female world champion Widad Bertal, affectionately known as the “Stinging Bee,” was outrightly robbed of a gold medal against her Italian opponent.
“Widad clearly won the fight, we were shocked how the Italian was declared the winner,” Nabil told boxersworld.co.ke, noting that the double-African Elite champion and African Games gold medallist had thoroughly overwhelmed her opponent in every single round. Bertal ultimately had to settle for silver.
Looking ahead, all eyes are now on the Africa Elite Men’s and Women’s Championships in Kinshasa, DR Congo, scheduled for October 18-31. While Nabil stated that an official decision will be announced next week, indications strongly suggest Morocco will travel to Kinshasa.
Having won the tournament there in 2024 with a staggering 21 medals, Morocco is locked in on making history as the first-ever country to win the African Championships three times in a row. They first won it in 2023 in Yaounde, Cameroon.
