The battle for the National teams' slots heads to Nakuru

Ian Mwangi (left) of Kahawa Boxing club and Johnathan Aroko of Kasarani Youth boxing club. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

With the league title headed for a two-horse race, teams are focused on the fight for slots in the two teams that will represent Kenya in the Africa Zone Three Boxing Championships to be hosted in Nairobi from October 15-25.

League leaders Kenya Police and defending champions Kenya Defence Forces are the two protagonists likely to wrestle the league title, and boxers are keen to get the selectors' nod.

Equally, coaches are keen on having most of their players selected in the teams for the regional championships.

One of the coaches is Nakuru Amateur Boxing Club assistant coach Moses Noor, who's keen to have at least three of his boxers make the cut.

Noor said his boxers are taking the league matches seriously after several weeks of intensive and consistent training with a mindset of landing some of them in the national team.

"It's our dream to have several of my boxers get selected into any of the two teams, with the rest expected to follow in the footsteps of experienced boxers," he told Standard Sports.

Africa Zone Three bantamweight silver medallist Shaffi Bakari said he's keen to don national team colours once again.

"Effective participation in Nakuru is the key to land in the national team," said Bakari, who competes for Kenya Police.

He failed to win the final fight against Dennis Muthama of the Kenya Defence Forces during the second leg of the league championships in Mombasa in July.

Africa Games middleweight gold medallist Edwin Okong'o said he's ready for the boxing extravaganza.

Okong'o, who boxes for KDF, said, "Our training sessions will count here in Nakuru as we hope to get selected into the national team."

And for the last few weeks, Nakuru ABC boxers had attended several tournaments that were meant to shape them for the third leg of the league championships.

They include the Inter-Cities Championships hosted in Kisumu recently, which attracted teams from Kisumu, Nakuru, Kampala, and Kajiado.

In Mombasa, Nakuru ABC placed three players in the finals, but only one won his fight.

On the team's weaknesses, the coach said he has advised his boxers on the modern technological scoring format of their punches in winning vital points.

"Advising on ways of scoring is crucial to us because it's a way to win crucial points," he said.