KDF, Police renew rivalry as National Boxing League heads for Nyeri

Kenya Defence Forces Musa Gitonga (blue) and Police Joseph Shigali(red) exchange blows during the National Boxing League in Thika. Musa won 3-0. ON 16/08/14 PHOTO: JENIPHER WACHIE

The young clubs will be seeking to upset institutional  ones in their quest to finish in respectable positions during the penultimate leg of the National Boxing League, which starts this afternoon at the Nyeri Municipal Hall.

The nondescript clubs, which include Nakuru ABC, Nyanza Combined and Coast Combined, have vowed to give the established institutional clubs some stiff challenge during the contests expected to shape up the league standings.

The outcome of the tournament will determine who wins the league ahead of next month's final leg in Nakuru.

Nakuru ABC, who have emerging boxers like National lightweight champion John Kariuki and hard-hitting middleweight Patrick Maina in their ranks, will be hoping to give defending champions Kenya Police and league leaders Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) a run for their money in Nyeri today.

KDF and Police will be in a cutthroat competition for the league title. KDF, who have last won the title eight years ago, will be out to wrestle the league title from Police who won it for the eighth year running.

Although the two teams boast  of some of the best and experienced pugilists, having represented Kenya in different international championships, they are beatable.

In its ranks, KDF has Commonwealth Games middleweight pugilist and captain Nick Abaka, youthful Shafi Bakari in light flyweight, Musa Gitonga in lightweight and the super heavyweight Victor Ombok.

The policemen have Glasgow Commonwealth Games bronze medalist who is also the National bantamweight champion Benson Gicharu, flyweight Peter Mungai, Martin Oduor in the bantamweight and upcoming Simon Kimani in the super heavyweight.

FIRST ROUND KNOCK OUT

Policeman Kimani subjected Victor Ombok of KDF to a first round knock out during the third leg of the league in Thika last month.

At the time, the soldiers presented nine players in the finals against the Police's seven while Prisons, Coast and Central Combined each had a boxer in the finals.

A total of nine teams have confirmed to be in Nyeri according to Boxing Association of Kenya Vice President Albert Matito.

They are defending champions Kenya Police, Kenya Defence Forces, Nakuru ABC, Nyanza Combined, Coast Combined, Kenyatta National Hospital, Central Combined, Nairobi Metropolitan and BAK Nairobi Club.

Kenya Defence Forces lead the ten-team-table league standings with 70 points ahead of defending champions Kenya Police who have 64 points.

Coast Combined are third with 19 points followed by Kenya Prisons 15, Kenya National Hospital 10, Nyanza Combined 10, Nakuru ABC 8, Central Combined 8, Nairobi Metropolitan 7 and BAK Nairobi a point.