Kenyan boxers in Germany ahead of AIBA draw

The Kenyan boxing team that departed the country on Sunday night for Hamburg is holding nerves ahead of Monday’s draw for the 2017 AIBA World Boxing Championships.

The team of three boxers will know their rivals three days before the competition that has attracted 280 boxers from across the globe to compete for the one of the most decorated boxing titles across nine days.

African Confederation Boxing Championships (AFCB) bronze medallists John Kyalo (middleweight) and Shaffi Bakari (light flyweight) as well as gold medal winner Nick Okoth (lightweight) make up the team of three that will fly the Kenyan flag in Germany’s second largest city.

“We are expecting AIBA to give out the draw for this competition in the evening so we can know our rivals in our first games. Our three boxers are now only trying to acclimatize,” Boxing Association of Kenya (BAK) President John Kameta told Citizen Digital.

Kameta assured the trio is the best that Kenya has to present to the world and backed them to medal at their respective categories having received adequate training.

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.

“There should be no excuses not to win because for me winning depends on the level of preparation you undertook as well as maximizing your potential,” Kameta added.

The 19th edition of the AIBA World Championships is due to begin on August 25 to September 3 at the Sporthalle arena.

-Report by Simon Ngaira.