Ajowi set to prove he's the regional super heavyweight champion

Heavyweight boxer Elly Ajowi. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Africa Zone Three super heavyweight champion Elly Ajowi is ready to defend his title at the national and international front.

Ajowi wants to prove he is the undisputed national champion of the top weight as opposed to some of his opponents who feels he is being favoured by national coaches.

Ajowi will do so in the Jamal Cup Championships that commence on Thursday at Nyayo National Stadium in a tournament that will be used to select boxers who will take part in the Africa Boxing Championships in January.

“Winning the regional title did not come on a silver platter but it was from my hard work at the national championships and in different international championships,” he told Standard Sports after the global championships that were recently hosted in Belgrade, Serbia.

“To reign supreme requires lots of courage, confidence and consistent hard work, fitness and regular training to be at par with the standards of all your opponents in different tournaments,” Ajowi added.

His sentiments come after former national super heavyweight champion Fredrick Ramogi of Kenya Defence Forces had claimed he still believes he’s the right undisputed champion for the top weight.

“This is a weight that I won after I had reigned supreme in different tournaments for the past three years and no one has come out right to challenge me on it or the title in order to be declared the national champion,” Ramogi had told Standard Sports.

National technical bench led by Musa Benjamin and David Munuhe confirmed Ajowi as the national and regional champion for the top weight saying his record and consistency speaks for itself in the national and international championships for the past two years, which had shaped him to be the regional champion.

“Ajowi has been consistent in training for the past two years during the Coronavirus pandemic, which made us select him for a number of international championships during that period as opposed to Ramogi who skips training anyhow,” said Benjamin.

Within the same time, Ajowi has participated in the Africa Olympics Qualifiers in Senegal in February 2019, Africa Zone Three Boxing Championships in Kinshasa in Democratic Republic of Congo in Democratic Republic of Congo in March 2021, Konstantin Korotkov Memorial Boxing Championships in the city of Khabarovsk in Russia in May 2021 and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in August 2021.

“A boxer cannot miss all these tournaments and claim to be a champion after missing many training sessions,” said Munuhe.

And to prove the point, Munuhe invited Ramogi to come for Jamal Cup Championships and prove his worth in the tournament.

“It is an open tournament for elite and upcoming players and those wishing to be selected for the continental championships,” he said.

His (Ramogi) last international tournament was in the World Military Boxing Championships in Russia in September 2021.