Germany-bound Kenyan boxers back in training

The Kenya male boxing team is back in training ahead of the 2017 AIBA World Boxing Championship slated for August 25 to September 3 in Hamburg, Germany.

The team that broke camp to participate in the August 8 General Elections regrouped on Friday at the Mathare Police Depot where preparations for the biennial amateur boxing competition have been stepped up.

Among those already in camp include African Confederation Boxing Championships (AFCB) bronze medallists John Kyalo (middleweight) and Shaffi Bakari (light flyweight) as well as gold medal winner Nick Okoth (lightweight).

“They are three of our best boxers but we have other promising boxers who have also joined them in training,” Team Coach David Munuhe told Citizen Digital.

Okoth won gold at the African Championships after beating Reda Benbaziz of Algeria in a unanimous decision, while Bakari and Kyalo took bronze at the continental event held in Brazzaville, Congo.

The trio is set to fly the Kenyan flag in Germany’s second largest city at the global showpiece that will bring together 280 boxers vying for world titles at different weight divisions.

Munuhe decried the time lost during the electioneering period but assured the team will be ready before departing the country on Sunday.

-Report by Simon Ngaira and Philip Muchiri.