Kisumu set for first leg of National Boxing League action from Thursday

Ben Nyamogo of Nairobi and Glenstone Agade (left) of Kenya Police during National Open Boxing Championship in Nairobi. May, 2924.[Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Kisumu will host the first leg of the National Boxing League on Thursday.

The three-day event ending on Saturday will be held at Mama Grace Onyango Social Hall with a participation of all league teams from the major cities and those from the counties.

The event brings together all boxers after a failed bid to secure Paris Olympics slots and they'll face off with some of their experienced opponents whom they had outwitted in the fight for the qualification tickets.

Boxing Federation of Kenya (BFK) Secretary General David Munuhe said all plans for the competition had been completed after the ring was transported from Nairobi to Kisumu yesterday.

"We expected the arrival of most teams by Tuesday evening to make the exercises of weighing-in and medical check-ups easier for the technical and medical teams tomorrow," Munuhe told Standard Sports yesterday.

As usual league champions Kenya Police and former champions Kenya Defence Forces and Kenya Prisons lead others in the fight for top honours and they should expect some tough competitions from county teams.

The three top sides will expect tough competition from established teams like Nairobi, Nakuru, Siaya, Kisumu and Mombasa in what prepares the same boxers for four international assignments still left before the end of the year.

The international assignments are Africa Boxing Championships in Conakry, Guinea from September 15-21, World Women Boxing Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan in October, World Men Boxing Championships at a venue to be named later in October and the Global Boxing Cup in Morocco in December.

Munuhe asked the boxers to take the league matches seriously as coaches will use them to assess those fit to don national teams colours for the selection of the aforementioned international assignments.

"All we are doing is to prepare players for international assignments using these league matches," said the BFK official.