• My new responsibilities include overseeing the administration of British Commonwealth and Indo-Oceania titles throughout the enormous demographic zone.
• I previously presided over the Commonwealth Boxing Council (CBC) and am currently the head of the Kenya Professional Boxing Commission.
Image: FILE
I am extremely proud to be appointed the World Alliance Boxing Association (WABA) Governor for a four-year term.
My new responsibilities include overseeing the administration of British Commonwealth and Indo-Oceania titles throughout the enormous demographic zone.
I also tasked with organising training sessions for ring officials, plan conventions, manage and lead the new region in the title tournaments, and scour the business community for funding. My appointment marks a new beginning not only for Kenya but also for the rest of the world.
I want to make sure that professional boxing in our zone expands significantly by using my extensive leadership skills to guide it to new heights.
Now that boxing has arrived in Kenya and Africa, we will make sure that fighters on the continent and in the areas under my jurisdiction make a decent living from their battles.
I will make certain that young boxers in the zone are recruited into the sport and have the same opportunities as their peers in America.
I urge corporations across the globe to embrace the game to increase brand visibility, growth, and development. I previously presided over the Commonwealth Boxing Council (CBC) and am currently the head of the Kenya Professional Boxing Commission.
I’m pleased that WABA is aware of the contributions I made to boxing during my two years as CBC president — 2000 to 2002.
Within that period, I provided Africa with a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate its boxing expertise to the globe.
I was the first CBC director to bring the AGM outside of the UK, first to Nairobi in 2000 and subsequently to Accra, Ghana in 2004. That feat has never been duplicated by another CBC President.
During this time, African boxing received unprecedented grants of equipment.
At this time, Roy Jones Jr., the IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion, arrived in Nairobi with a jet packed with boxing gear and other boxing-related items.
African boxers like Sara ‘Angel of War’ Achieng and others had plenty of chances to compete for CBC championship titles, which helped them earn recognition and notoriety abroad.
As I launch a comprehensive and ambitious campaign to move the nation forward, I plan to accomplish much more for the region.
The time is ripe for Kenyan professional boxers to reap the benefits of their efforts. They should be allowed to pursue boxing as a full-time career that will support their families.
This necessitates effective administrative structures as well as a strong mechanism for identifying and developing talent.
To achieve this, we have started extending our tentacles by contacting allies who share our commitment to growing the sport.
We have already engaged the World Boxing Federation and together, we are exploring avenues of establishing a tight working partnership for the benefit of the sport.
WBF President Howard Goldberg is expected in the country later in the month to witness the ten-round World Super Featherweight title battle between Kenyan boxer Fatuma ‘Iron Fist’ Zarika and Tanzanian fighter Fatuma Omari.
The fight will be staged at the Broadwalk Mall along Ojijo Road in Parklands in Nairobi on October 27.
During the event, Albert Kimario will compete against Malawian fighter Grey Chimkwapulo for the Intercontinental Super Bantamweight title of the World Alliance Boxing Association (WABA).