Bakari gearing up for league championships

Kenyan boxer Shaffi Bakari in a past training session. [File, Standard]

As the first leg of the league championships gets closer, experienced boxers who have had a rough time against novice players are ready to change the tide this time round.

This applies in all weight categories, but our main focus for now is in the bantamweight (54kg).

Here, we have three boxers who are out to outbox each other in the five legs of the league championships this year.

They are Hassan Shaffi Bakari of Kenya Police, Dennis Muthama of Kenya Defence Forces, and Chris Musyoki of the Kenya Prisons.

First is the 2019 All Africa Games flyweight gold medallist Hassan Shaffi Bakari, who is ready to give his opponents some anxious moments.

Bakari, who is the most experienced boxer in that category, is not taking chances against his opponents this time round.

Bakari is taking his matches seriously from the onset of his training sessions until he gets to real action.

"At times, losing makes me a better player and even stronger. All those who beat me narrowly or convincingly must now get ready for real action," Bakari warned his opponents.

Muthama and Musyoki have given the policeman anxious moments for the last 18 months.

Muthama defeated Bakari three times in the league championships last year, with the latter revenging twice.

And Musyoki walloped Bakari in the semi-finals of the Kenya Open Boxing Championships at Kaloleni Social Hall in Nairobi last month, only for him (Musyoki) to lose in the finals against Muthama ahead of the league championships.

Muthama is the reigning national bantamweight champion.