All set for Nakuru boxing tournament

Boxers ready to mark the Labour Day celebration at K-Fitness Gym in Nakuru.[File,Standard]

Six professional fights have been lined up this afternoon at K-Fitness Gym in Nakuru to mark the Labour Day celebrations in the city.

Four boxers from Nakuru have been picked by the Kenya Professional Boxing Commission, who’ll fight selected players from other parts of the country as a way of promoting professional boxing at the grassroots.

The Nakuru quartet is Stacy Awino,  Jeremiah Abuko, Maxwell Odhiambo and Simon Onyinkwa, who all will fight in the curtain-raiser matches save for Abuko.

The main fight will be between Abuko, who’ll square it out with Jackson Munene.

Other fights will see Awino take on Mercy Acayo, Odhiambo play Victor Okoyo, and Onyinkwa face Erick Adika.

In other curtain-raisers, Bilali Kalande takes on Elijah Kingi, with Edwin Hayo facing Azad Nasir.

The director of the event, Patrick Ojil, said they aim to find a way to encourage young boxers to join the paid ranks while still energetic.

“We are here to encourage young boxers to join pro-boxing, where they have high chances of financial gains as opposed to amateur boxing, where they’ll only earn trophies and medals,” he told Standard Sports.

This is the first event in a series of professional boxing events that proceed to eight counties, with the culmination and finals to be held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi.

Ojil said they’ll teach these boxers how to invest the proceeds that could lead them to a decent life in retirement.

“Definitely, we’ll teach these boxers how to invest their resources in order to lead a decent life in retirement,” he said.