🇨🇩 Countdown to the Africa Elite Boxing Championships, Kinshasa, DR Congo, October 14-27
DOMINANT EGYPT RETAIN AFRICA BOXING CHAMPIONSHIPS TITLE
▫️ Ghana finish second but share Nkrumah Shield with Egypt
▫️ Waruinge steals limelight as Kenya and Uganda win first gold medals in the second Africa tourney hosted by Ghana in 1964
Egypt and Ghana maintained their domination in the second Africa Boxing Championships held at the National Stadium in 1964 in Accra, Ghana.
The Egyptians retained the overall position winning President Nasser Cup for the second time in a row having clinched the top spot in the inaugural tournament in Cairo in 1962.
Egypt – then known as United Arab Republic – collected three gold, three silver and three bronze medals with Ghana winning three gold, two silver and three bronze medals. The two countries shared the Nkrumah Shield for winning three gold medals each.
The available sketchy information that I’ve managed to comb through owing to Africa’s negligence to maintain proper records and statistics of their past boxing tournaments, shows Egypt’s three gold medals came from flyweight Mahmoud Hamza, lightweight Fawzi Hassan Suleiman and welterweight Hussein Saddik while light-welterweight Eddie Blay, light-middleweight Eddie Davies l and middleweight Joe Darkey won Ghana’s three gold medals with Blay, one of Ghana’s top boxers then, retaining the light-welterweight title by outpointing Kenya’s stubborn John Olulu in the finals.
Kenya’s polished Philip Waruinge and Uganda’s 1962 Commonwealth Games heavyweight champion George Oywello made their presence felt by winning the first gold medals for the two East African countries in the Africa Championships with one-armed Waruinge smartly outpointing Egypt’s Bedawi el Bedawi – using his left arm following a right arm injury – in the featherweight division and Oywello stopping in the second round defending heavyweight champion Tewfi Mazher of Egypt. Light-middleweight Domisiano Ochodomuge and middleweight Peter Odhiambo won Uganda’s two silver medals.
With one gold, two silver and three bronze medals, Uganda upstaged Kenya in the bragging rights battle for the two East African countries.
Uganda was reportedly represented by 10 boxers and Kenya three boxers, the third one being welterweight Mwangi Mugo who lost to Uganda’s silver medallist in the 1962 Africa Championships, Powell Mabwa. In Accra Mabwa settled for a bronze medal at welterweight.
Waruinge was given a standing ovation by the crowd following his skillful show in the finals.
He caught the eye of Nigeria’s former world featherweight champion Hogan “Kid” Bassey who wanted the Kenyan ring artist to turn professional. Waruinge was a product of Nakuru Amateur Boxing Club under Irish coach Maxie McCullough, Olulu and Mugo students of coach Freddie Webb at Pumwani Boxing Club but by then Mugo had joined Kenya Prisons.
Nigeria’s bantamweight Karimu Young and Benin’s light-heavyweight Expedit Montcho won the other two gold medals in the 10 weight classes competed for in Accra from flyweight to heavyweight. The light-flyweight berth was introduced in the third Africa Boxing Championships held in 1966 in Lagos, Nigeria.
📸 Kenya’s Minister for Labour and Social Services whose portfolio included sports Ngala Mwendwa (in the foreground) and his PS Mr Ndisi admire gold and silver medals of Philip Waruinge and John Olulu on arrival back home from Accra
NENEZ MEDIA SERVICES