After a better start, light heavyweight Robert Okaka also gave Kenya a second win at the ongoing Elite World Men Boxing Championships at the Duty Free Tennis Stadium in Dubai on Friday.
Okaka defeated Anton Vinogrodov of Estonia on points to follow into the footsteps of national bantamweight champion Shaffi Bakari, whose opening win equally gave the playing unit a second round of morale that could have inspired them to register more victories.
However, it was a day of mixed results, as Okaka’s win came with four consecutive losses against the Kenyan fighters.
As an experienced boxer, Bakari, who’s a former Africa Zone Three (bantamweight) silver medallist was confident of getting to the medal bracket, a development that inspired Okaka before he took on Vinogrodov in the ring.
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“Bakari’s win inspired all of us to a self-belief that we could also make it in our respective bouts in our different weights,” Okaka said.
He said they’ll be out to do their best after rigorous training sessions from their coaches.
“Our coaches have done their bit, and it’s upon us to do our part as players,” said Okaka who’s taking part in the global championships for the second time.
And true to his word, Okaka did his best to emerge victorious, but it wasn’t an easy match for the Kenyan fighter in all three rounds, as he faced an experienced and serious opponent from the word go. The match could have gone either way in the Round of 32.
Okaka’s win was the second morale booster to the team that is steadily trying to get their right space in the global boxing world as it was from the sixties to the late nineties.
After that win, it was followed by successive losses by the next four Kenyan boxers.
They were minimumweight (48kg) Silas Onyango, welterweight (67kg) Wiseman Kavondo, cruiserweight (86kg) Crispin Ochanda and super heavyweight (over 92kg) Clinton Macharia lost in the Round of 32.
In the losses, one was a split-points decision, the second on a referee stop the contest (RSC) ruling, and two were on unanimous points’ decisions.