Liz Andiego (far left) is relying on the support of her teammates in Serbia to silence her Chinese opponent in the quarter-finals on Thursday, March 13.
KENYA’S LIZ ANDIEGO ASSURED OF KSH1.2 MILLION, SHE WANTS TO SMASH HER OPPONENT’S RIBS
Liz Andiego carrying the hopes of over 50 million Kenyans.
Win or lose, Kenya’s Liz Andiego is assured of $10,000 (Ksh 1,295,000), the prize money for quarter-finalists in the ongoing Women’s World Boxing Championships in Serbia.
It’s the first time the International Boxing Association (IBA) is offering quarter-finalists prize money in addition to $100,000 for gold medalists, silver medalists earning $50,000 and $25,000 for the two bronze medalists. That’s why IBA leads and others follow.
There is no doubt Ladyluck has been very generous to Kenya’s most successful female boxer Liz Andiego who is also the face of women’s boxing in East Africa.
She becomes the first East African boxer to earn the newly-introduced $10,000 for quarter-finalists in the World Championships.
At the 2022 Women’s World Boxing in Turkey, she received a bye to the quarter-finals, losing 5-0 to homegirl, 39-year-old Elif Guneri.
Ladyluck again smiled to the Kenyan warhorse in the 2023 World Championships in New Delhi, India, where she again got a bye to the quarter-finals, and lost on points to Kazakhstan’s Fariza Sholtay.
In this year’s Serbia Worlds, Ladyluck again gave Liz a warm hug as she received a bye to the quarters.
BFK President Jamal handed over power to Liz Andiego in his office at Chel-C Hotel ahead of Serbia Worlds.
It’s her third quarter-final appearance in the World Championships, battling China’s Wang Xiaomeng who defeated Asian champion Gulsaya Yerzhan from Kazakhstan in the pre-quarters.
The big question remains: What strategy should Liz adopt against the Chinese boxer?
Should she throw caution to the wind and fight her to mess up her game plan?
How about a phone booth approach?, making sure Xiaomeng doesn’t get an inch to keep Liz at bay. Hapa kwa hapa!
The Kenyan star boxer, an upright campaigner who prefers to hit the head mostly, can as well decide to go for the body taking advantage of her power to repeatedly smash the Chinese with screaming body blows spiced with energy-sapping short uppercuts at her solar-plexus, or _kaasho_ it you like.
Liz could break her ribs in the ensuing body raid. This is boxing. If it happens, it’ll be bad luck for the Chinese boxer but this is a bout she has to win because the two-time Africa Championships silver medalists is carrying the hopes of over 50 million Kenyans.
Liz Andiego (right) in the 2024 AFBC Men’s and Women’s African Boxing Championships in Kinshasa, DR Congo.
Victory will see the 37-year-old Liz from Bondo in the Western Kenya Region becoming East Africa’s first ever medallist in the Women’s Worlds.
Morocco’s Rabab Cheddar outpoints Mexico’s Galicia Gomez to power her into the quarter-finals of the ongoing Women’s World Boxing Championships in Nis, Spain.
Rabab’s pre-quarters victory brings to six the number of African boxers already in the quarter-finals.
Others through to the quarters are Moroccans, bantamweight Widad Bertal, welterweight Mounia Toutire and light-heavyweight Hasnae Larti, Sierra Leone’s lightweight Josefien Betist and Kenya’s light-heavyweight Liz Andiego who received a bye to the last eight for her third appearance in the World Championships quarters.
Nigeria's African Games middleweight champion Patricia Mbata leads Africa's assault in today's pre-quarters.
SEVEN AFRICAN BOXERS TO TRADE LEATHER IN TODAY’S ROUND OF 16
With four boxers in the quarter-finals, morale is high among the African boxers taking part in the 14th edition of Women’s World Boxing Championships in Nis, Serbia.
More boxers from Africa are expected to sail through in today’s pre-quarters with seven pugilists in action.
So far, Africa’s female boxers have won a total of eight medals in the World Championships with North Africa winning six and Southern Africa two.
Mozambican boxing glamour girls, light-middleweight Alcinda Dos Santos won silver and bronze by middleweight Rady Gramane in the 2022 Worlds in Turkey to become the first boxers South of Sahara in Africa to win medals at the World Championships.
The face of Africa’s female boxing, charismatic Moroccan heavyweight Khadija Mardi made history in 2023 winning Africa’s first ever gold medal in the World Championships. She won bronze in 2019 in Russia, the first one for Africa in Women’s Worlds. Mardi pulled out of the Serbia event because she’s unwell.
Here’s today’s (March 12) schedule for African boxers:
Minimumweight: Rabab Cheddar (Morocco) vs Galicia Gomez (Mexico)
Featherweight: Pauline Chege (Kenya) vs Mijgona Samadova (Tajikistan)
Middleweight: Aminata Koroma (Sierra Leone) vs Nadezhda Ryabets (Kazakhstan)
Patricia Mbata (IBA- Nigeria) vs Vasiliki Stavridou (Greece)
Flyweight: Imane El Azami (Morocco) vs Meron Gutierrez (Spain)
Lencer Akinyi (Kenya) vs Dragana Jovanovic (Serbia)
Light-middleweight: Saida Lahmidi (Morocco) vs Oysha Toirova (Uzbekistan)
Wow! I've won!...An emotional two-time Africa champion and African Games gold medallist Widad Bertal of Morocco is one of the four African boxers in quarters.
FOUR AFRICAN BOXERS IN QUARTERS AS TOTAL NUMBER OF LOSERS SWELLS TO 13
The joy of winning is written all over the face of Sierra Leone’s bantamweight Josefien Betist.
Three Moroccan boxers Widad Bertal, Mounia Toutire, Hasnae Larti and Sierra Leone’s Josefien Betist punched their way to the quarter-finals in Day 3 of Women’s World Boxing Championships in Nis, Serbia on Tuesday, March 11.
Bertal, the two-time Africa bantamweight champion and African Games gold medallist outpointed North Korea’s Park Jin Hyang, welterweight Toutire beat Mexico’s Maria Rodriguez 5-0, Africa light-heavyweight champion Larti stopped Serbia’s Elma Hajrovic in two minutes 57 seconds of the third round while Betist won against Latvia’s Anna Sorokina 5-0.
Six more African boxers, four Kenyans, one Moroccan and a Cape Verdean were eliminated from the tournament as some officials raised concern on what they felt was questionable officiating.
Take it easy Cape Verdean Ivanusa Moreira. You win some lose some.
The four Kenyans out ar_Take it easy Cape Verdean Ivanusa Moreira. You win some lose some_e lightweight Emily Juma beaten 5-0 by Slovakia’s Miroslava Jedinakova, light-welterweight Cynthia Mwai was stopped in 22 seconds of the second round by Mexico’s Gonzalez Hernandez, welterweight Friza Anyango lost 5-0 to Slovakia’s Tamara Kubalova and bantamweight Amina Martha went down on points to Russia’s Karina Tazabekova.
Morocco’s bronze medal winner in the 2023 World Championships and Africa light-flyweight champion Yasmine Mouttaki was beaten 5-0 by Kazakhstan’s bronze medallist in the 2023 India Worlds Alua Balkibekova while Cape Verde’s Africa champion in Yaounde 2023 Moreira lost 5-0 to Kazakhstan’s Zhasmin Kizatova.
Kenya’s Emily Juma (right) was one of the six African boxers eliminated in Day 3 of World Boxing Championships in Nis, Serbia on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.
With six boxers out in Day 3 of Serbia Worlds, a total of 13 African boxers have now been eliminated from the 14th edition of the ongoing World Championships.
Tunisia's Islem Ferchichi (right) dominated Russia's Karina Tazabekova but was robbed of clean victory, putting once again into disrepute on dubious decisions.
AFRICA ROBBED AS DANCING KENYANS BRIGHTEN UP DAY TWO
Tunisia’s Islem Ferchichi (right) dominated Russia’s Karina Tazabekova but was robbed of clean victory, putting boxing into disrepute once again on dubious decisions.
Biased officiating reared its ugly head on Day Two of Women’s World Boxing Championships in Serbia on March 10, 2025.
Jovial dancing Kenyan girls however brightened up the day as the total number of African boxers who have lost swelled to seven.
Tunisia’s bantamweight Islem Ferchichi dominated Russia’s Karina Tazabekova that at the end of the three rounds even those with elementary knowledge of boxing would have given the Tunisian boxer a deserved victory.
Surprisingly, it was the Russian boxer declared the winner much to the chagrin of Ferchichi who had the better of the exchanges throughout the three rounds.
The five judges interestingly all scored it 30-27 in favour of the Russian boxer. Probably they were watching baseball.
My high school buddy Ephraim Amboye, who is a staunch boxing fan, described it as a stinking decision which has once again put boxing into disrepute.
“That was daylight robbery, totally unacceptable,” said Amboye now a businessman in Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi.
The loss of Ethiopia’s bantamweight Roman Abate to Moldova’s Iulia Coroli was also suspicious and had decided by BR with Coroli taking it 4-3.
Dancing Kenyan girls livened up the day for Africa when they celebrated in style the walkover victories of flyweight Lencer Akinyi and featherweight Pauline Chege following the unavailability of their opponents.
Lencer was to fight South Africa’s Thandolwethu Mathiba and Pauline was pitted against Montenegro’s Bojana Gojkovic.
The two Kenyans have now qualified to the round of 16, and will be in action on Wednesday, March 12. Lencer meets number five seed Serbia’s Dragana Jovanovic while Pauline battles Tajikistan’s number four seed Mijgona Samadova.
In addition to Ferchichi and Abate, other losing African boxers on Day Two were Zimbabwean duo of lightweight Hilday Kaye beaten by Serbia’s Christina Kuluhova and featherweight Lovelight Fusire who lost 5-0 to Brazil’s Yasmin Alvez.
After Day Two action, a total of seven African boxers have so far been eliminated and two winning on walkovers to move to the round of 16.
Day One on March 9 saw three African boxers kissing goodbye to the Women’s World Boxing Championships. They are Kenya’s light-flyweight Veronica Mbithe beaten 5-0 by Kazakhstan’s two-time world championships medallist Alua Belkibekova and two Ethiopians, light-flyweight Werkneshi Wada and lightweight Million Cherba who lost via a walkover while Wada was stopped in the second round by Turkey’s Aysen Taskin.
Meanwhile, South Africa and Tanzania joined Ghana and DR Congo as nations that failed to travel to Serbia after failing to be issued with visas, a painful body blow to the boxers whose months of preparations have gone to waste.
Kenya's African Military Games champion Veronica Mbithe (left) was the only African boxer who went the full three rounds.
POOR START FOR AFRICAN BOXERS IN SERBIA WORLDS
Ethiopia’s light-flyweight Werkneshi Wada (right) was stopped in the second round by Turkey’s Aysen Taskin.
Four walkovers and one stoppage highlighted a miserable day in the office for African boxers. All the five boxers lost on the opening day of Women’s World Boxing Championships in Nis, Serbia on Sunday, March 9.
It’s only Kenya’s light-flyweight Veronica Mbithe who went the full distance before losing to Kazakhstan’s Alua Balkibekova. Her competitor was a silver and bronze medalist in the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. Balkibekova won 5-0 in the one sided bout.
The Kazakhstan boxer, who’s also a double gold medalist in the Asian Championships, was on a picnic, toying around with Mbithe by piling points at will and using a dummy jab to open up sporadic target punches that left a bewildered Mbithe at sea. She failed to conjure up a formula to handle her more experienced and technically superior opponent not to mention that she lacked fluidity in her footwork and most of her punches hardly landed on target.
“She was hitting at me and running away, it was so difficult to get her,” the usually composed Corporal Mbithe told boxersworld.co.ke in an interview.
What’s noticeable however is that Mbithe’s approach has improved considerably unlike in the past when she used to throw several ineffective punches with no game plan in mind.
Wada receiving a standing count before the referee waved it off to save her from the cruel fists of the Turkish boxer.
Kenya’s head coach Musa Benjamin appreciated Mbithe’s efforts against the experienced Kazakh boxer and pinpointed some of Mbithe’s shortcomings.
“We must first appreciate the experience of the Kazakh boxer, a two-time Asian champion and twice world championship medalist,” said the Kenyan coach.
Musa went on: “Mbithe gave a lot of respect to her opponent’s reputation therefore disrupting our fight plans. Instead of circling to her right to avoid the big right hand, she stood squarely in front of her letting her establish her range.
“A dead jab sometimes allowed her opponent to close in and fire her shots, overall performance was good against a very good opponent. A lot of improvement in movement and defense noted “
Lack of exposure was noticeable in Mbithe’s performance and rust too owing to inactivity.
The last time Mbithe fought in the ring was during African Military Games in November, 2024 in Abuja, Nigeria where she won a silver medal in the light-flyweight final. She got a bye to the finals.
After Abuja, Mbithe has been inactive owing to lack of regular competitions, a big problem prevalent in most African countries.
Coupled with the haphazard preparations in a non-residential training at the dilapidated Mathare Police Depot Gym with no government official visiting the team to monitor their training, Mbithe’s situation is understandle. It takes a boxer with extraordinary potential such as Mbithe’s compatriots, 1978 world champion Steve Muchoki and 1982 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Ibrahim Bilali, to excel at the big stage even without exposure using their own ingenuity.
Enter the walkovers. I’m reliably informed the South African boxers are not in Serbia. Like Ghana, Tanzania and DR Congo, issuance of their visas has not materialised.
A frustrated South Africa National Boxing Organisation (SANABO) Secretary-General Liwa Mlokoti has blasted the Serbians for their slow and “deliberate” pace on issuance of visas.
“It has been a frustrating period for us, the main problem is in Serbia not at their Embassies,” said Mlokoti.
“We have been waiting for visas since last Wednesday. Our team is still in Johannesburg. We have eight boxers and two officials, we’ve incurred a lot of expense s paying to reschedule flights twice.
“We’re still waiting even as of now I’m talking to you Mr Nene, I think it’s deliberate, if we succeed we will take the boxers to Serbia for training there and sparring with some of the world’s top boxers because we can’t be refunded.”
The two South African boxers who lost on walkovers are Mandela Cup light-flyweight bronze medallist Ncube Ntandoyenkosi and lightweight Esona Peter.
As for Tanzania’s heavyweight Rachel Msengi losing via a walkover at heavyweight, that was expected since the East Africans are not yet in Serbia. Frantic efforts are being made to ferry at least one Tanzania boxer to Serbia in time for her bout on Wednesday. That’s if they succeed to be issued with a visa which takes a painfully laborious process because it must be approved in Belgrade.
Mbithe takes it easy after losing 5-0 to the Kazakh boxer.
The other African boxers who lost on the opening day are Ethiopia’s light-flyweight Werkneshi Wada and lightweight Million Cherba via a walkover while Wada was stopped in the second round by Turkey’s Aysen Taskin.
Contacted, Ethiopia’s coach Eyob Tesfsye said : “The transport was delayed and we are still sitting at the hotel.”
Meanwhile, three African boxers are in the ring today, March 10, as the World Championships enters the second day.
Zimbabwe’s light-welterweight Hildah Kaye battles Serbia’s Kristina Kuluhova,Tunisia’s lone representative, bantamweight Islem Ferchichi’s fate in the tournament will be decided in her tough duel against Russia’s stubborn Karina Tazabekova while Ethiopia’s Roman Abate meets Moldova’s Iulia Caroli.
The two Kenyans due to have fought today in the round of 32, flyweight Lencer Akinyi and featherweight Pauline Chege have won their bouts on walkovers. Their opponents, South Africa’s Thandolwethu Mathiba and Montenegro’s Bojana Gojkovic are unavailable giving the Kenyans a safe passage to the pre-quarters without throwing a punch.
Nine African countries are represented in the 14th edition of Women’s World Boxing Championships starting today in Nis, Serbia.
Tanzania, Ghana and DR Congo eventually pulled out for lack of visas. They applied but the process was too slow and therefore decided to withdraw, a painful blow to the boxers.
At the 2023 Women’s World Championships, 13 African countries were represented.
The nine African countries represented in Serbia are:
The draw did not favour heavyweight Joselyn Mareh in the 2010 World Championships. She lost to the eventual gold medallist. Joselyn is now Boxing Federation of Kenya (BFK) Assistant Competition Secretary.
KENYAN FEMALE BOXERS MAKE DEBUT IN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
The birth of women’s boxing in Kenya in 1986 was followed by a big breakthrough in 2010 when for the first time the national team entered Women’s World Championships in Bridgetown, Barbados.
The team comprised light-flyweight Mildred Atieno, bantamweight Ruth Awuor Odongo, featherweight Lorna Kusa, lightweight Mary Muthoni, light-welterweight Durry Wanjiku, welterweight Nelly Akoth Oluoch aka Sonko Msoto, middleweight Liz Andiego, light-heavyweight Media Muhatia and heavyweight Joselyn Mareh.
Jocelyn Mareh still packs a powerful punch
Durry Wanjiku, now a coach in Central Kenya, recalls with nostalgia Kenya’s maiden appearance Women’s World Championships in 2010 in Barbados.
Barbados, an independent British Commonwealth country, is an eastern Caribbean Island.
Wanjiku says they were all so excited and looking ahead to their debut in the global women’s boxing extravaganza.
“I remember one of our coaches David Munuhe would minus each day in the calendar,” says Wanjiku.
“We trained at Mathare Police Depot with several coaches, Kawata (Maurice Maina) and John Waweru were the other coaches but it’s only Waweru who travelled with us. Training was tough, we always motivated each other, tunasema hii sio ajua ni blow!.”
While they were all excited to be Kenya’s women boxing pioneers in the World Championships, they also had a feeling of apprehension.
“We had the stage fright also because we were venturing into the unknown. It was both exciting and scary but as boxers we remained confident because in the ring there is only one language, and that’s exchanging blows with your opponent. How best you’ll do it is what matters most.”
All of them except Muthoni lost their fights. Muthoni stopped Grenada’s Toussaint Chloe in the second round and was just one step away from the quarter-finals but lost her next fight to China’s Dong Cheng.
The Chinese progressed to the finals losing to celebrated Irish boxer Katie Taylor who won a total of 18 gold medals in her illustrious amateur career including five consecutive gold medals in the World Championships and an Olympic gold in 2012 before turning pro in 2016.
“We were so proud of Muthoni for winning her fight,” says Wanjiku who was also in the Kenya team which took part in the 2012 World Championships in China, their second appearance in the global boxing event.
In Barbados, Durry Wanjiku lost to Rebecca Price of Wales who stopped the Kenyan boxer in two minutes of the second round.
Other boxers in China were flyweight Christine Ongare, bantamweight Ruth Odongo, featherweight Rebah Matanda, lightweight Mary Muthoni and middleweight Liz Andiego.
Says Wanjiku:”There was a major improvement in China but we were disadvantaged by the scoring system. Boxing has really changed, you can throw many punches but you don’t score. Our coaches in China were John Waweru assisted by Charles Mukula and Albert Matito was the team manager.
“I take this opportunity to wish our team the best of luck in Serbia let them do better than us and have more winners because it’s only Muthoni (Mary) and Christine Ongare who have won in the world championships.”
Kenya is being represented by eight boxers in this year’s World Championships in Serbia. Captain Andiego is making her fifth appearance, bantamweight Amina Martha her third appearance, light-flyweight Veronica Mbithe and featherweight Pauline Chege their second appearance while flyweight Lencer Akinyi, lightweight Emily Juma and light-welterweight Cynthia Mwai are making their maiden appearance as well as representing Kenya for the first time.
“l hope the draw will favour our boxers. At times the draw can be so cruel to inexperienced boxers,” says Wanjiku citing an example of heavyweight Joselyn Mareh in Barbados where she was drawn in her first fight against the eventual gold medallist Russia’s Torlopova Nadezhda.
“lt’s so unfair for a newcomer to be drawn against an established boxer. IBA should introduce a seeding system to have the best boxers fight each other first,” says Wanjiku who represented Kenya from 2010 to 2012 and started boxing at Jericho Social Hall at the age of six years.
On why boxers from Europe, Asia and Americas are doing better than African boxers, Wanjiku says:” They’re well exposed constantly, better facilities and also motivated through financial rewards. We lack several things among them exposure and a strong financial base.
“Being a boxer in Kenya is not for the faint-hearted. In Kenya most boxers live from hand to mouth. In my case when l was in Mombasa l woke up at 4am for my morning run and then back at 6am. l sleep for 45 minutes and wake up to start my business of hawking clothes in town.
“In the evening hungry and tired, l’m at Mwanandondi Boxing Club for training under coach Lemmy Katibi we know him better as Cobra. Then there’s rent to pay so at times even concentrating during sparring is difficult.”
Most sparring sessions in Kenya, Wanjiku says, are total war.
“You go home injured with no money to treat yourself. You wonder whether to cry, eat, sleep or wash your heap of clothes and in the morning you have to wake up early for roadwork. What pushed some of us was hope for a better future.”
Kenya's light-flyweight Veronica Mbithe is one of the five African boxers in action today.
FIVE AFRICAN BOXERS IN TODAY’S OPENING ACTION, IBA NIGERIA IN THE MIX
The 14th edition of Women’s World Boxing Championships gets underway today (March 9) in Nis, Serbia, with five African boxers trading leather in various weight categories.
The five are South Africa’s Brics Games bronze medallist Ntandoyenkosi Ncube, Kenya’s African Military Games silver medallist Veronica Mbithe, Ethiopian duo of Milian Cherba and Werkneshi Wada and South Africa’s Esona Peter.
Ncube, who also won bronze in the inaugural Nelson Mandela African Boxing Cup, battles Russia’s national champion Rinata Bezel at light-flyweight while Corporal Mbithe, a product of Dallas Boxing Club, meets 2022 and 2023 silver and bronze medallist including twice gold medallist in Asian Championships Alua Balkibekova of Kazakhstan.
Lightweight Cherba has a date with Vietnam’s Ngo Thi Mai, light-flyweight, Wada fights Turkey’s Aysen Taskin with Esona taking on Tajikistan’s bronze medallist in the 2022 World Championships Shoira Zulkaynarova who has faced a lot of opposition since she took up boxing in this Muslim nation.
Tanzania’s heavyweight Rachel Msengi is listed fighting Zamora Nena of French Polynesia but the latter will get a walkover as the Tanzanian has yet to leave the country owing to a delay in visa issuance.
Among the African countries represented in this year’s Women’s World Championships are South Africa, Morocco, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Cape Verde, Eswatini, Tunisia and IBA Nigeria.
Nigeria may have decamped to World Boxing but London-based Nigerian Patricia Mbata seems unfazed by the decision as she’s taking part in the IBA-organised event.
Despite the fact that Nigeria has joined World Boxing, London-based African Games middleweight champion Patricia Mbata is taking part in the IBA-organised World Championships. It will be interesting to see how the Nigerian Boxing Federation will react.
Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Gambia, Madagascar and Malawi are the six African countries which have so far quit IBA and joined World Boxing. Africa still remains IBA stronghold.
The 2023 Women’s World Championships in India attracted 13 African countries.
LAUREN PRICE DOMINATES NATASHA JONAS TO BECOME UNIFIED CHAMPION
Lauren Price scored a unanimous points victory over Natasha Jonas on Friday to move one step closer to an undisputed welterweight title fight.
The victory — scored 98-93, 100-90 and 98-92 by the three judges — was an emphatic one for Price (9-0, 2 KOs), who added Jonas’ IBF and WBC belts to the WBA strap she already held.
The all-women’s card, staged at the iconic Royal Albert Hall in London, lived up to the hype, with entertaining fights throughout the night.
The main event was billed by some as a potential “changing of the guard fight,” with Price 10 years Jonas’ junior.
Price started fast, peppering Jonas (16-2-2,9 KOs) with a lightning-quick double jab, moving forward and landing two big right hands in Round 1 to set the tone.
It was one-way traffic from there. While Price was constantly moving and feinting, Jonas looked as though she wanted to conserve her energy and choose her shots with caution. At one stage, Jonas’ trainer Joe Gallagher told her she “needs to throw some punches” in the corner.
Price, meanwhile, boxed smartly and built into the fight. “Too young, too quick” was the Welsh fighter’s tagline during the buildup, and she backed it up with a clinical victory.
Victory will likely see Price face the winner of Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan, who fight for the WBO belt in a rematch March 29 in Las Vegas, in an exciting undisputed title fight.
On the undercard, Caroline Dubois (11-0-1, 5 KOs) retained her WBC lightweight title with a majority decision win over Bo Mi Re Shin (18-3-3, 10 KOs).
It was far from light work for the champion, whose legs looked shaky in the final round, before she hung on to maintain her unbeaten record.
