đ„NENEZ BOXING ARCHIVE:
The day Diblo won, celebrated, but in the dressing room he forgot he was the winner.
On April 20, 1997, Kenyaâs Absalom Okinyi aka Diblo was in a world of his own following his hard-fought points victory over Ugandaâs big punching welterweight Robert Kamya at the Lugogo Indoor Stadium, Kampala.
Making his international debut, Diblo was paired against Kamya, then one of the top Ugandan boxers.
A cracking left hook to the jaw saw the Kenyan boxer making a compulsory trip to the canvas. He pulled himself up for an eight count.
âIt was such a strong punch, I had never been hit so hard but I regained my composure to win the fight on points,â recalls Diblo on his baptism of fire.
Surprisingly, Diblo celebrated when his arm was lifted by the referee at the packed Lugogo Indoor Stadium but sub-consciously he was not aware he had won.
âIt was my friend and teammate George Oduor who told me in the dressing room I was the winner. I didnât know that at all. He even told me I celebrated but I couldnât remember that. I was just in a different world mentally. Thatâs boxing, fans cheer us without knowing what we go through in the ring. You see a boxer leaving the ring after a bout thinking heâs listening to fans cheering him, at times heâs not himself and doesnât know whatâs going on outside there. Boxing is a tough sport. Any boxer stepping in the ring to fight or even does sparring deserves a lot of respect.â
Kenya defeated Uganda 7-5 bouts in the first leg of the Brunner Urafiki Cup in Kampala.
Other Kenyan winners included skipper Evans Ashira Oure who outpointed the highly regarded James Lubwama at light-middle, GeorgeâKidiâ Oduor knocked
Among the five Ugandan winners were bantamweight Adam Kassim who outpointed Nick Otieno, featherweight Meddie Mwanje pts winner over David Kiilu and lightweight Ouma Kassim outpointed Sammy Imbaya.
In the return leg match at Makuti Park Hotel in Nairobi South B, Kenya again beat Uganda 7-5 bouts with Diblo outpointing Kamya for the second time.
âHe knocked me down again in the first riund, I got up and beat him proper. He congratulated me after the fight and told me I was a very good boxer. He came to Nairobi promising to destroy me but I was mentally prepared for him.â
The following year Diblo, together with Moses Kinywa, won silver medals at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Diblo boxed for Kenya in several other international competitions, his last international outing being at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Australia where he was eliminated in the quarter-finals.
He stepped out of the ring in 2008, and currently concentrates on his job at Kenya Police. Heâs attached to the DCI.
He is also an IBA 1-Star boxing coach.
