Abaka for pro debut in Turkey
Kenya's Otieno Nickson Abaka (right) fights with England's Antony Fowler during a Mens Middle (75 kg) Quarter-Final boxing match at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, on July 30, 2014. Kenya Defence Force’s middleweight boxer Nickson Abaka left the country for Istanbul, Turkey, on October 30, 2014 where he will debut in the AIBA Pro Boxing ranks. FILE PHOTO | AFP
What you need to know:
- He joins Kenya’s 2010 Commonwealth Games bantamweight bronze medalist Benson Gicharu and Kenya Prison’s welterweight boxer Rayton Okwiri who are the only Kenyans competing in the AIBA Pro Boxing pre-ranking tournament.
Kenya Defence Force’s middleweight boxer Nickson Abaka left the country for Istanbul, Turkey, on Thursday where he will debut in the AIBA Pro Boxing ranks.
Abaka, who is the captain of national boxing team ‘Hit Squad’, will fight a yet-to-be-known opponent from Turkey.
He joins Kenya’s 2010 Commonwealth Games bantamweight bronze medalist Benson Gicharu and Kenya Prison’s welterweight boxer Rayton Okwiri who are the only Kenyans competing in the AIBA Pro Boxing pre-ranking tournament.
Abaka stands to take home Sh2.5 million of he wins the fight and Sh440,000 if the fight ends in a draw.
Speaking Thursday ahead of his night trip, a delighted Abaka was grateful to have made the cut for the fight and said although he had little time to prepare, he is going for nothing short of a win.
“I feel honoured to have been considered for this tournament. Although I received the news quite late, I am ready for the challenge. I believe that I will succeed,” he said.
The 34-year-old, a former bantamweight pugilist, will compete in the middleweight category in Turkey as he seeks to follow in Okwiri’s footsteps.
Okwiri beat Austrian Marcos Nader last Saturday in Baku, Azerbaijan, to become the first Kenyan to win in the pre-ranking series.
Gicharu landed in Buenos Aires, Argentina, early this week ahead of his match against Alberto Melian on Saturday.
Boxing Association of Kenya chairman John Kameta termed Abaka’s progress a great step for Kenyan boxing which will help bring back some of Kenya’s lost glory in boxing.
