Okwiri fight against Uganda's Ouma fails to take-off

The non-title-fight between former Africa Boxing Union super middleweight champion Rayton Okwiri (pictured) and former International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior middleweight champion Kassim Ouma of Uganda failed to take off on Monday night after all.

Okwiri demanded to be paid the first part of his dues before taking the ring.

Sources had warned Okwiri to demand part payment before the match as chances were high he would not have been paid by the organizers.

The 10-round-non-title-fight was organized by Ugandan promoter Stephen Ssembuya, who is the Chief Executive Officer of 12 Sports Rounds Promotions that could have seen the winner take home over USD10,000 according to Uganda media reports.

Kenyan promoter Frankline Imbenzi of Sound Rock Promotions who in the past had handled Okwiri's matches confirmed they had warned him (Okwiri) not to take the ring until he was partly paid by the Ugandan promoter.

"It could not have been easy for Okwiri to earn all his dues after the match and therefore our urge for the part-payment before the match and the balance after the bout. We didn't want a situation where Okwiri gets frustrated after results had gone either way," Imbenzi told Standard Sports.

Social media predictions had put Okwiri at 97 per cent victory compared to Ouma's three per cent, hence Okwiri's insistence to be paid before the match.

"We had a strategy on ways to handle him (Ouma). The best prize that I could have given Kenyans this festive season is a comfortable win. I'll knock him out in the first six rounds. If I don't knock him out within the first six rounds, then Ouma will throw in the towel," a confident Okwiri had told Uganda reporters before the match.

Okwiri said he respects Ouma's experience but it was not a threat to his title ambitions.

Okwiri who is determined to recapture his lost ABU title on his way to a world title fight is not taking chances in any fight that comes his way and therefore was not ready for 'ping pong;' games!

The 36-year-old-Okwiri was stripped of the ABU title two years back by World Boxing Council (WBC) after participating in the 2020 Africa Olympic Qualifiers in Dakar, Senegal against their rules of featuring in amateur matches.

Okwiri's last fight was against Emmany Kalombo of the Democratic Republic of Congo on June 30, 2022, in a 10-Round fight in Johannesburg, South Africa that saw the Kenyan professional fighter lose on a knockout.

Imbenzi revealed that once a professional boxer had undergone weighing-in and medical check-ups, he must be paid a certain amount of money irrespective of the outcome of the match and therefore Okwiri was within his rights to demand part payment.

"Professional rules demands a boxer to be partly paid after weighing-in and medical check-ups and therefore the Ugandan promoter cannot escape paying Okwiri whether he likes it or not according to World Professional rules," he explained.

Okwiri was cleared by Kenya Professional Boxing Commission (KPBC) to fight in Kampala and our efforts to reach its Chairman Reuben Ndolo were futile as he wasn't picking up calls or never replied to our text messages.

The 44-year old-Ouma has had 47 professional fights winning 29 (with 18 knockouts), 17 draws and one loss (29-17-1) while Okwiri has fought 10 times with eight victories (with eight knockouts), a draw and a loss.

The Ugandan is based in Amsterdam, Netherlands while Okwiri is in Nairobi.

Records of both boxers

Kenya's Rayton Okwiri -10 fights - Eight victories (with eight knockouts), a draw and a loss.

Uganda's Kassim Ouma- 47 fights - 29 (with 18 knockouts), 17 draws and one loss (29-17-1).