Reigning Africa light-middleweight champion Boniface Mogunde aka The Hammer is one of the top boxers expected to set alight this year’s Kenya Open Boxing Championships from April 17-19 in Nairobi.
If you’ve not watched the rebranded Mogunde in action lately, Kenya Open is the place to be.
The Police boxer will entertain and mesmerize you with his new approach spiced with Cuban style of boxing that combines graceful footwork, clean scoring punches and distance management.
“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,” Mogunde told boxersworld.co.ke
“They mostly apply techniques and exceptional footwork which allows them to move quickly around the ring to avoid being hit and create angles to land clean shots.”
Mogunde is currently training with his Police teammates at the Mathare Depot well aware that he’s the boxer to beat in the light-middleweight division.
Since losing to Prisons’ Jacob Kimathi in the 2018 Commonwealth Games trials at Kaloleni Social Hall, Mogunde has remained unbeaten locally up to this day.
So who will end his seven-year unbeaten run in the Kenya Open?
One boxer Mogunde will have to watch is Alvin Oduor of Kenya Defence Forces who put up an impressive show in last year’s league. The Mbotela Estate – bred Oduor finished the season on a winning note stopping Andrew Odhiambo of Kenya Prisons in the second round during the final leg of the Kenya National Boxing League in Homa Bay last year, 2024.
It remains to be seen whether Oduor will be able to match the crafty Mogunde with his slick moves if they meet in the Kenya Open.
Mogunde, whose potential was spotted and moulded by national team head coach Musa Benjamin in 2013, made his international debut in the 2019 African Games in Rabat, Morocco where he won a bronze medal in the welterweight division.
He ended Kenya’s seven-year gold medal drought in the Africa Championships during the continental event in 2024 in Kinshasa, DR Congo, outpointing
Burundi’s Nestor Nduwarugira in the finals.
Besides the Kinshasa gold, Mogunde has won bronze and silver in the Zone Five Championships in DR Congo. He has also won bronze medals twice in the Africa Championships in 2022 and 2023..
BFK MEDIA
