STANDING OVATION FOR OKOLLA DESPITE LOSING IN PRAGUE

STANDING OVATION FOR OKOLLA DESPITE LOSING IN PRAGUE

Kenya’s Morris “Hercules” Okolla went down fighting against homeboy Lukas Fajk in a four-round heavyweight bout in Prague on Saturday, April 12.

In a toe-to-toe exchange, Okolla lost on points but was loudly applauded by the local fans in Prague for his valiant show.

“Okolla gave it his all, total war, he received a standing ovation after the fight,” said Franklin Imbenzi, the Secretary-General of the Kenya Professional Boxing Commission (KPBC) who accompanied the two Kenyan boxers to Prague.

Imbenzi said Jane Kavulani, known for her punch resistance, gave a good account of herself against Fabiana Bytyqi in a six-round bantamweight encounter the Kenyan lost on points.

“My fight was tough, he was almost giving up in the second round, he was butting and using all sorts of dirty tricks,” Okolla told boxersworld.co.ke in an interview from Prague.

Okolla has now dropped to 13-5-0, 10 KOs and Kavulani 19-19-5, 7 KOs.

Imbenzi said the KPBC is now planning to invest on young boxers to inject new blood in Kenya’s pro boxing.

“Generally we need to invest in our young boxers and that’s why we have taken the initiative of having a semi-pro to tap the best from amateur to gradually turn professional,” said Imbenzi.

“We have a calendar of events starting from next week in Riyadh then Europe and eventually WBC World Cup, we have so many boxers in Kenya but we will not interfere with our brothers in amateur boxing, the cake is too big.

“We also have WBC amateur events lined up this year and we expect Kenya to present a strong team.”

Photos courtesy