Charter Hall, Nairobi, will be the crucible of sweat, grit and a symphony of well-orchestrated footwork as the three-day Kenya Open Boxing Championship roars into life next week.
At the heart of this storm stands Boniface Mogunde, reigning Africa light-middleweight champion.
The 32-year-old Hit Squad captain, also known as ' The Hammer', is one of the top boxers expected to set the ring alight at the premier annual showpiece scheduled for April 17-19.
Mogunde, who locally plies trade for Kenya Police, has promised to mesmerise boxing enthusiasts with his newly adopted Cuban style of boxing that intertwines footwork, clean scoring punches and distance management.
"The Cuban style of boxing appeals to me because they typically concentrate on scoring points with clean technical punches instead of trying to knock out opponents," Mogunde stated.
Mogunde vowed to dance around his opponents with a graceful pirouette of footwork and a ballet of calculated aggression which he said will attest to the Cuban style he has embraced.
"Cuban boxers primarily use strategies and superb footwork that enable them to move swiftly around the ring to avoid collisions and establish angles to make clean shots," he added.
In 2023, Mogunde was among 12 Hit Squad boxers who toured the Caribbean island nation for a 10-day high-intensity training camp to sharpen claws for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games qualifiers that were held in Dakar, Senegal.
Mogunde said he picked invaluable lessons from the international trip, sharpening his skills as a top-notch fighter.
"The trip was largely successful and greatly beneficial to us. We learned the tactics that make Cuba a formidable opponent in the world boxing arena," he said. "I was able to spar with some of the top boxers in the world, which greatly improved my skills and helped me succeed in the ring later on," he said.
Mogunde hones his skills at Mathare Depot, which is a breeding ground for champions, alongside his Chafua Chafua' boxing club teammates.
Mogunde has not lost locally since falling to Prisons' Jacob Kimathi at the 2018 Commonwealth Games trials held at Kaloleni Social Hall.
His amateur boxing record stands at four wins, three losses and 0 draws. Mogunde is a vital member of Kenya's national boxing squad, known as the "Hit Squad."
His rise to the top wasn't a straight line; it was a winding path, each turn a lesson learned. He has traded the brute force of his youth for the finesse of a master, his punches now a symphony of precision, each strike a note in a carefully orchestrated melody.
The 2024 Africa Elite Boxing Championships in Kinshasa was his crowning moment with the gold medal he won a testament to his unwavering commitment. He defeated Nestor Nduwarugira of Burundi in the championship match, signifying an important turning point in both his career and Kenyan boxing. Mogunde had won numerous bronze medals in different competitions before this triumph, which gave rise to the moniker 'Mr. Bronze'.
