TOP UGANDAN AND TANZANIAN BOXERS FALL IN NAIROBI AS CAMEROON COACH CRIES FOUL
▪️African Military Games champion Erina Namutebi and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Kassim Mbundwike brought down to earth by ambitious young boxers hungry for success
When the Africa Boxing Zone 3 Championships started on Monday, Uganda’s dominant Erina Namutebi and big-talking Tanzanian Kasim Mbundwike were among the star boxers expected to shine in the nine-team tournament ending today at the Kasarani Gym, Nairobi.
The two boxers were hotly tipped among the gold medal favourites going by their highly regarded reputation in Africa boxing. So was Cameroon’s welterweight Oumarou Mouhamed who was shocked by Kenyan debutant Wiseman Kavondo.
Namutebi landed in Nairobi as the African Military Games light-welterweight champion, double silver medalist at the 2023 African Championships and Mandela African Boxing Cup tournaments.
The showy Mbundwike, still basking in the glory of winning bronze at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, was talking big ahead of his bout against Kenya’s debutant, Alvin Oduor who recently made headlines on his love for the tiny omena fish which he says plays an important role in his boxing career.
“I’m confident of victory, that Kenyan boy will know who I am in boxing,” Mbundwike told boxersworld.co.ke in an interview in their Kasarani Gym dressing room.
Mbundwike however ate humble pie losing 5-0 to Oduor and Namutebi was beaten 5-0 by Kenya’s Cynthia Mwai in the light-welterweight class. Mbundwike and Namutebi will return home with bronze medals.
Cameroon’s Africa minimumweight champion Wouang Martial felt cheated in his loss to DR Congo’s Mayala Tsimba who incurred a cut above his right eye in the first round of their semi-final bout.
He was declared the winner on points, a decision vehemently opposed by Cameroon’s coach Alain Didier Ngatcha who argues that was a normal cut from a punch not inflicted through head-butting or a collision. Therefore he felt his boxer should have won on Referee Stopped Contest (RSC) decision.
The Technical Director of the tournament Rajiv Rajcoomar said at the time of stoppage in the first round, Tsimba was leading on points but did not elaborate what caused the cut.
The chairman of Boxing Federation of Kenya Referees and Judges Commission, Nelson Otieno, further elaborates on stoppage victories.
“If a boxer sustains an injury out of a legal blow and the doctor declares him/her unfit to continue, he loses the fight on RSC Injury (RSCI),” says Otieno, adding: “It doesn’t matter whether he was leading on points upto the last two seconds. In the case of Martial bout maybe the referee said it was a head clash and the judges nominated the DRC boxer as the one who was leading on points.”
Cameroon coach Ngatcha also challenged the referee’s decision to stop the semi-final cruiserweight fight between his boxer Baguiguana Georges against Kenya’s Chris Ochanda.
“My boxer was clearly leading on points until he was staggered by the Kenyan in the third round and the referee rightly gave him a standing count but I’m surprised he decided to stop the fight yet my boxer still strong to finish the round,” says a disappointed Ngatcha suggesting during such major competitions trainee referees and judges should not handle fights.
