First leg of boxing league kicks off in Kisumu

Kenya's Benson Gicharu Njangiru (L) fights Guyana's Imran Khan (R) in their men's boxing Bantam (56kg), round of 32 bout at the SECC Precinct during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland on July 25, 2014. AFP PHOTO / ANDREJ ISAKOVIC

As the first leg of the National Boxing League boxes off at Jomo Kenyatta Sports Ground in Kisumu tomorrow, players have been asked to take the matches seriously as they would be used to judge and analyse their performance ahead of the national team selection.

The selection trials will be held in July at a venue to be decided by the executive committee of the Boxing Association of Kenya next month.

Boxing Association of Kenya Vice-President Albert Matito urged players to take the first three legs of the tournament seriously.

“The league matches will be the first step of the selection process to judge and analyse the consistency of players by a panel of judges who will ultimately decide the final squad for the global championships. We’ll not just hand-pick a boxer just because he has shone in one league tournament,” Matito told FeverPitch.

Some 14 teams have confirmed participation in the Kisumu championships that run from tomorrow to Saturday.

These include defending champions Kenya Police, Kenya Defence Forces, Kenya Prisons, Kenyatta National Hospital, Nakuru ABC, Nairobi Metropolitan, Nanyuki, Coast Combined, Kisumu Combined, and Nairobi County Team.

The others are Oscar Kassongo Sports Academy, Dallas Muthurwa, Kentract, and Kibra.

As the league boxes off, the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games bantamweight silver medalist Benson Gicharu has confirmed that he will make a comeback to the league championships. He said he preferred the league championships to turning professional.