Okwiri to face Russian

Kenya’s golden boy, welter-weight Rayton Okwiri, left, of Kenya Prisons Boxing Club is prepared by his coach Patrick Maina during their last spuring in preparation for the International Boxing Association, IBA, pro-boxing at Pamwani Social Hall in Nairobi on Thursday, January 15th, Photo/Jonah Onyango.

Kenya’s Peter Mungai would not have wished for a better start at these Olympics as he got a bye into the next round after the draw yesterday.

Mungai, who is fighting in the light flyweight category would have been the first Kenyan boxer to take to the ring today, but he will now wait until August 8 in the morning before starting his chase for medals.

He will face China’s LV Bin, who also got a bye to the next round and a win for Mungai means he books a place in the quarters.

The development now means welterweight boxer Rayton Okwiri will be the first Kenyan in the ring as his bout is set for tomorrow.

Okwiri will face Russia’s Andrei Zamkovoi, who is among the Russian athletes allowed to compete at the Rio Olympics after the doping scandal that dogged his country before the Games.

The Russian won bronze at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. He won silver at the 2009 World Championships in Milan, Italy with the Southpaw Russian shocking two-time world champion Serik Sapiyev in the semi-finals before losing in the final.

Okwiri, therefore, faces stiff challenge, but he says he is ready for anything and will not be concerned by the qualities of any opponent he faces at the Olympics.

“I’m prepared for my first fight as I trained well while at home and also here in Brazil. I have had no hiccups so far.

“Come the day of the competition, I will be ready for any challenge thrown my way as I booked the Olympic ticket after tough qualifying competition,” said Okwiri, who won gold at the Africa Olympics qualifiers held early this year in Cameroon.

Okwiri also won bronze at the 2011 All Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique.

The third Kenyan boxer Benson Gicharu will be fighting on August 10 and will be hoping Okwiri will have won his bout after Mungai started the event well by getting a bye into the next round.

Gicharu, who was the last of the three Kenyan boxers at the Olympics to book a qualifying slot will battle it out against Erdenebat Tsendbaatar from Mongolia in the evening.

Gicharu had failed to book an Olympic slot during the Africa qualifiers in Yaounde and was forced to travel to Venezuela without a coach, but still booked the ticket against all the odds.

One of his highlights is winning silver at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India and a bronze at the Commonwealth Games in Glassgow in Scotland in 2014.