By ELIAS MAKORI in Dubai
Kenya’s “Hit Squad” survivors thus far – lightweight Washington Wandera and light heavyweight Robert Okaka – carry the country’s podium hopes when they take to the ring in Monday’s Round of 16 matches at the IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium here in the United Arab Emirates.
There were three more “Hit Squad” casualties in the United Arab Emirates’ most populous city on Saturday night with bantamweight Shaffi Bakari falling to top seed Rafael Lozano Serrano, middleweight Edwin Okongo falling to Miroslav Kapuler-Ishchenko of Israel and Githurai boy Kelvin Maina outpointed by Daniyal Sabit of Kazakhstan in the flyweight division.
In the light heavyweight division on Friday night, soldier Okaka, who had been given a bye into the Round of 32, started slow but picked up the pace to stop Estonia’s Vinogradov Anton 4-1 and edge into the Round of 16 where he will fight for a quarter-final slot against Tunisia’s Youssef Rafrafi on Monday.
The Jericho Estate-born fighter was impressed by his fight development through the rounds and declared his dream of emulating Jericho legend Robert Wangila, Kenya’s only Olympic boxing champion who panned the gold at the 1988 Seoul Games.
Okaka: We train hard and smart
“I started off slowly, but I knew the way Anton started, he won’t have the power in Round Two and Three… The way you start isn’t the way you finish the fight. You can start slowly and pick up or start on a high and go down,” he analyzed his fight.
“He tended to go for the knockout blow, but I was able to contain him. We train hard and smart and we push hard…. We always reach for the clouds, and that’s why I was strong and matched him blow by blow.
“Within the first round you are able to study the opponent – I thank God and the judges. Nashukuru sana Sir Jah (I thank God very much),” added Okaka who was full of praise for the Kenyan corner: “Our preparation was good, and the coaches took close care of us 24-7 and they catered for all we needed so that when we get into the ring, we commit ourselves.”
Okaka wasn’t destined to be a boxer. But he gradually grew into the sport and started training with the Jericho Boxing Club.
“They mentored me and one time at City Hall, I watched some fights and said to myself ‘if they can box, I can also box’.”
Okaka was born six years after Wangila’s tragic 1994 Las Vegas, Nevada, ring death, but the “Hit Squad” star is well aware of the Jericho legend’s exploits, a legacy he would like to ride on.
“I’m representing Robert Wangila – His name is Robert Wangila and I’m Robert Okaka. I have the faith that where he reached, I will reach and represent Jericho and Kenya. I will make sure that I push in the next fight,” he exuded confidence.
“Jericho Boxing Club is my home club – I thank all the coaches who have trained me and held my hand in this boxing journey.”
With Jericho more famous for its illustrious footballers, including Harambee Stars’ longest-serving skipper Musa Otieno, than boxers, Okaka was never really interested in playing football at the famous “Camp Toyoyo” grounds.
“I liked boxing because it’s all about discipline and commitment and working straight. In the ring, it’s you and your opponent – you can’t complain about not receiving a pass like in football. It’s about you alone and all the blame will be on you as an individual,” he explained his love for the ring.
“This means in training, you need to push yourself, just like I pushed myself against my opponent. I punched him over and saw he had a cut so I decided to take the fight forward – for me its forward ever, backwards never!”
He was grateful to the Kenyan corner of head coach Benjamin Musa, David Munuhe and John Waweru for their ringside tips: “The corner really supported me because at times I would look out for them and they would give me tips – I’d like to tell fellow boxers to always look out for the corner because if I had fought the way I know, without consulting the corner, I wouldn’t have won the bout… They see the fight differently and the tips they gave me worked.”
Wandera wins East African battle
In Saturday night’s “Battle of East Africa”, Wandera was too good for his Dubai-based 24-year-old Ugandan Fahad Mulindwa in the lightweight division.
In Monday’s Round of 16, Wandera will now come up against Matvejs Prokudins of Latvia who stopped Australia’s fifth seed Luke Cessar in the Round of 32.
The goalkeeper-turned-boxer, an alumnus of Jamhuri High School, said although he didn’t know much about the Ugandan, he was well psyched up for the contest which he dominated, sweeping the cards 5-0 after an aggressive first two rounds and a bout management third.
“I came into the game with good morale. It’s God who has given me this opportunity and He cannot bring me all the way from Kenya to embarrass me here… I came pumped up by the coaches, teammates and I was focused on the game and knew I will win,” he reacted conceding that he didn’t know much about his Dubai-based opponent.
“I didn’t know him and I just said we shall meet in the ring… Being based in Dubai, he was familiar with the conditions and the humidity didn’t seem to trouble him much, but I beat him with speedwork. I’m now done with this one, I will put God ahead and I know He will fight for me in the next contest and that I will be a winner.”
Wandera started boxing in 2012 after graduating from Jamhuri High School where he played in goal until 2011.
“It’s a case of ‘from small gloves to big gloves’,” quipped the soldier who studied at Nairobi’s Computer Training School before joining Kibera Olympic Club and the Omar Kasongo Sports Academy where he was spotted and recruited into the Kenya Defence Forces.
Earlier, bantamweight Shaffi Bakari had lost to top seed Rafael Lozano Serrano of Spain whom he described as “much stronger and more experienced.”
“He was tougher and stronger than me and also faster…. He is more experienced than me and his hand speed was fast and so it was difficult to counter him and attack him with blows that would make him weak,” reacted Bakari who added that he would focus more on strength training and bag some more ring time.
“The more I fight at home and internationally makes me a better fighter. Like now, I should not only rely on my natural strength. I need to build on my strength so that I can be stronger with better stamina so that I can effectively deal with such good opponents because once they hit you, they weaken you.
“In need to work on my strength and speed to fit in their league.”
Okongo feels robbed in middleweight clash
Elsewhere, Okongo felt he had Miroslav Kapuler-Ishchenko by the jugular and wasn’t too pleased by the judges’ decision to award the bleeding Israeli the middleweight bout.
“I don’t know how I lost this one… but I feel I back-pedaled a bit in the second round and didn’t take advantage,” he observed, noting that he had drawn important lessons from the fight.
“I will just go back to the gym. I have the aggression and I should have started off the first round more aggressively.
“I don’t agree with the (judges’) decision because I landed some strong punches and even if you looked at him, he was bleeding all over. I landed some heavy punches. I saw he was beatable in the first round…. But I can’t complain because it was the judges’ decision.”
He prays for more ring time at the competitive global stage: “I have come a long way and I have seen a lot of improvement compared to the early days. I’m now more familiar with fighting on the international scene. The more I box at this level the closer I will get to my goal of winning.”
Githurai’s Maina was the last Kenyan in action on Saturday evening and although he lost to Miroslav Kapuler-Ishchenko, he remained confident that he’s one to watch in the flyweight division.
“I’m not too disappointed with my game. In the first round I failed to land many punches which tired me early. The opponent was hitting me more that’s why I circulated quite a bit.
“Considering that Kazakhstan boxers are the best in the world, on this world stage I can now be well ranked – I taught him some boxing too because he depended on strength while I focused on speed and movement,” the KDF man who trains at Jamhuri Showground and Githurai noted.
“Although he beat me, I schooled him a bit in boxing… I will now go back to the drawing board and train harder. The next time he fights me, I will be good.”
Rise from tout to KDF soldier
Interestingly, after completing his high school education, Maina was a matatu tout on the Githurai 44 route to put bread on the table.
“I had to hustle and boxing was just for self defence. But my talent was noticed and I fought in the novices’ championships attracting the eye of Kenya Prisons Service coaches.
“They didn’t give me a job at Prisons, but I fought for them in the league until 2015 when I was snapped up by the Kenya Defence Forces who offered me employment.
“I also thank my parents (Moses Maina and Philomena Njoki) for encouraging me… I know they were watching me tonight. They never believed that boxing would bring me this far, telling me to drop the game. They were only surprised when the KDF offered me employment and they have been very supportive since.
“In Africa, I’m well-ranked among the flyweights and I’d also like to thank the KDF for shaping my career and giving me exposure at the World Military Games and other competitions,” says Maina who went up the divisions from light flyweight to flyweight in 2018, winning gold in his new division at the Africa Military Games in Abuja last year.
Kenya’s Round of 16 pairings on Monday (December 8):
Light heavyweight, 75-80kgs:
- Robert Okaka vs Youssef Rafrafi (Tunisia) – Match 240 (Round of 16) – Monday, Session 9B (17:00hrs);
Lightweight, 57-60kgs:
- Washington Wandera Wabwire vs Matvejs Prokudins (Latvia) – Match 255 (Round of 16) – Monday, Session 10A (21:00hrs);
‘Hit Squad’ casualties so far:
- Minimumweight, 46-48kgs: Sylus Onyango lost to Danil Hasika Tissaaratchy (Sri Lanka);
- Flyweight, 48-51kgs: Kelvin Maina Michira lost to Daniyal Sabit (Kazakhstan);
- Bantamweight, 51-54kgs: Shaffi Bakari lost to Rafael Lozano Serrano (Spain);
- Welterweight, 63.5-67kgs: Wiseman Kavondo lost to Hovhannes Bachkov (Armenia);
- Middleweight, 71-75kgs: Edwin Okongo lost to Kapuler Ishchenko Miroslav (Israel);
- Cruiserweight, 80-86kg: Chrispine Ochanda lost to Andrei Chiriakov (Moldova);
- Heavyweight, 86-92kg: Peter Abuti lost to Bakyt Ululu Toktosun (Kyrgyzstan);
- Super heavyweight, 92kgs plus: Clinton Macharia lost to Smiahlikau Uladzislau (Belarus)
Fighting on Sunday (December 7):
- Light welter, 60-63.5kgs: Caleb Wandera vs Lucas Mariano Villalba (Argentina) – 5pm – Ring A;
- Featherweight, 54-57kgs: Paul Omondi Onguku vs Ahmed Alkoum (Libya) – 5pm – Ring B;
- Light Middleweight, 67-71kgs: Boniface Mogunde vs Sarkan Aliyev (Azerbaijan) – 9pm – Ring B;
Elias Makori, the founder and Managing Editor of Pura Vida Sports Africa, is a veteran sports journalist with over 30 years’ experience. Makori is a holder of a Masters in Sports Management degree from Barcelona’s Cruyff Institute and is also the 2012 World Athletics Journalist of the Year, three-time Kenya Sports Journalist of the Year and twice Africa Sports Media Personality of the Year.
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