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The Nairobian

Boxers in final round, ready to punch for gold

Boxing

By Ben Ahenda | Aug 30, 2019

**Middleweight boxer George Cosby during the team's training session at Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani in Nairobi on August 6, 2019 [Courtesy]**

Kenya is certain of winning silver after national flyweight champion Shaffi Hassan Bakari won his semi-final against Wibshet Dawit Bekele at Amani Indoor Sports Centre in Rabat, Morocco, on Wednesday night.

Bakari defeated Bekele on a split 4-1 points’ decision awarded by a panel of judges in a one-sided flyweight contest.

Bakari was set to face Mohammed Rajab Otukile of Botswana in the flyweight (52kg) finals last night after the Botswanan squeezed a narrow 3-2 win over Algerian Mohammed Flissi in another semi-final.

The performance must have inspired two other boxers who dropped in semifinals in their fights to settle for bronze medals on Monday night. They are heavyweight Elly Ajowi and superheavyweight Fred Ramogi.

Ajowi lost 4-1 to Moroccan Baalla Youness in a heavyweight semi-final clash while Ramogi beat Tshikera Jeamie Kimbembi of Democratic Republic of Congo in the second and third rounds to win in 3-1.

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Kimbembi was set to face Egyptian Hafez Yousry who defeated Adebayo Solomon Imoleayo of Nigeria on unanimous points’ decision in the second superheavyweight semi-final.

Moroccan Baalla Youness was scheduled to face Algerian Benchabla Abdelhadif in the heavyweight finals after Youness received a bye in the semifinals of the second match.

By yesterday, Kenya had won four bronze medals following an earlier exit of two more boxers in the semi-final in their different weight categories with a possibility of bagging either a gold or silver following Bakari’s qualification from flyweight finals.

Welterweight Maina Boniface Mogunde (69kg), middleweight Ouma George Cosby (75kg), heavyweight Elly Ajowi(91kg) and superheavyweight Otieno Fredrick Ramogi (over 91kg) have each bagged bronze medal.

Mogunde lost in the welterweight semi-final clash against Nigerian Osoba Abdul-Afeez Ayoola who won on unanimous points’ decision and was set to meet with Clair Merven of Mauritius in the welterweight finals last night.

Cosby was defeated by Moroccan Allali Tarik in the middleweight semifinal clash on unanimous points’ decision in the middleweight semifinal clash and was last evening set to take on David Karuma of Uganda in the finals.

Karuma had earlier defeated Abdelmonani Ahmed of Egypt in a unanimous points’ decision in the second middleweight (75kg) semifinal match.

Olympian Ajowi and Ramogi secured their bronze medals by the virtue of being knocked out in their semifinal matches by their respective opponents.

Out of four female boxers selected by Boxing Federation of Kenya to take part in the games, none of them managed to reach the knockout stages.

They are flyweight Christine Ongare, lightweight Evelyn Akinyi, welterweight Lorna Kusa and middleweight Elizabeth Andiego.