Akhasamba’s long, hard road to fame and fortune

Joseph Akhasamba  (left) fights Mustapha Noor in an all-Kenyan pro event at Pal Pal gymnasium, Pumwani Social Hall, Nairobi, on November 13, 2008. He knocked out Noor in the second of their scheduled eight-round bout. PHOTO | FILE |

What you need to know:

  • The 55 year-old Joseph Akhasamba learnt boxing at the age of 20 to defend himself against marauding Majengo slum hooligans who used to harass defenceless lads in the estate.
  • After Akhasamba mastered the game, it became his bread and butter.
  • He is currently the sole Kenyan male professional pugilist to have won a world title, the World Boxing Board (WBB)

The 55 year-old Joseph Akhasamba learnt boxing at the age of 20 to defend himself against marauding Majengo slum hooligans who used to harass defenceless lads in the estate.

After Akhasamba mastered the game, it became his bread and butter. He is currently the sole Kenyan male professional pugilist to have won a world title, the World Boxing Board (WBB) heavyweight belt, which he clinched in May 2000 when he challenged the champion, Rene Hani of Dresden, Germany, and defeated him on points in a 12 rounds contest.

Akhasamba earned a cool Sh800,000 (US$ 10,000) prize money.

He defended the title the following year, September 14, 2001 against another German national, Willi Fischer at Offenbach, Germany and lost the 12 round fight on points.

As a defending champion, Akhasamba was paid Sh1.4 million (US$ 15,000) to defend the title.  His professional boxing record is 16 wins (12 through knockout), 9 losses (one knockout) and a single draw.

When Akhasamba was asked what he did with the money he earned from the two fights, he said: “I bought four acres of land at Kwisero, two grade cows and a posho mill with the money from the first fight and a matatu that plied Kakamega/Kisumu route with the cash I got when I defended the title.

Tough looking ex-World Boxing Board (WBB) heavyweight champion Joseph Akhasamba poses for a picture at Nation’s news room at Nation Centre, Nairobi on May 20, 2017. PHOTO | FRANCIS NDERITU |

I also used part of the money to educate my children.”

The 183 centimeter (six feet) tall Akhasamba, was born in Kwisero East Ward, Kakamega County, on June 1, 1962. He left his parents upcountry to join his elder brother, Benson Namtenda, in Nairobi in December 1981, while still in Form Two at Eshinutna Secondary School, Kwisero.

He says lack of school fees made him stop schooling. When his father failed to raise his school fees, instead of him staying at home with his aging parents, he decided to leave Kwisero for Nairobi to live with his elder brother, Benson Namtenda.

He left home with high expectations of getting a good paying job once he got to the city. He thought that life would be rosy in Nairobi and that armed with a with a national identification card (ID) it would be just a matter of time before he landed himself a good paying job. He had acquired an ID while in Secondary School.

But that was not to be. When Akhasamba got to Nairobi he found things were not the way he expected them to be. He said: “When I went to industrial area to look for employment, I only got casual jobs of loading goods into lorries.

One time I was hired to load building construction iron rods, I quit the job after doing it for two days as I found the staff to be too heavy for me.

“Life was not easy in the estate as there were hooligans who were harassing me very much, but I later discovered that the gang members had a lot of respect for boys who had either karate or boxing skills.”

A friendlier looking Akhasamba strikes another pose. PHOTO | FRANCIS NDERITU |

For that reason, Akhasamba chose to learn boxing and joined Pumwani Boxing Club in May 1982 with the sole purpose of learning the sport to defend himself.

But when he told the coach, Alex Omwomo, his reason for wanting to join the sport, he was told that boxing is not meant for street fights, but rather a sport that should get someone employment.

After training for three years, Akhasamba took part in the 1985 national novice and intermediate championships and won in the light heavyweight berth. He also took part in that year’s Kenya Open Championship and won in the same weight category. 

That marked the beginning Akhasamba’s meteoric rise as a boxer. His rise could be attributed to the shortage of boxers in the heavier weight categories in the country.

As his coach had advised him when he started boxing, that the sport could get him employment, Akhasamba was signed up by the Kenya Breweries Boxing Club the following year, 1986, as their light heavyweight pugilist.

At the time, Kenya Breweries had the best boxers in the country in their stable. He represented the club in the national league and the country internationally for seven years.

He was part of the squad that represented Kenya in the historic 1988 Seoul Olympics, South Korea, that the late welterweight Robert Wangila Napunyi, won Kenya and Africa a first ever boxing Olympics gold medal. Akhasamba was eliminated in the quarter finals.

Commenting on Akhasamba’s boxing style, Kenya Prisons’ boxing coach, Maurice ‘Kawata’ Maina, who was part of the 1988 Kenya’s Olympics squad as a flyweight said:

“He was deadly as a light heavyweight. He was a knockout specialist, most of his bouts did not go the whole distance. He boxed as if he was limping which was very deceptive to his opponents. He was strong with powerful punches.”

A friendlier looking Akhasamba strikes another pose. PHOTO | FRANCIS NDERITU |

Two years after the Seoul Olympics, Akhasamba won a gold medal in the Auckland Commonwealth Games, New Zealand and in the 1991 All Africa Games in Cairo, Egypt, he clinched a silver medal in the heavyweight division. 

The boxing event in Cairo was used as a qualifier for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Spain. In Barcelona, Akhsamba lost in the quarterfinals.

When asked what made him join the paid ranks, Akhasamba said: “When I attained the age of 32, I was told by the Amateur Boxing Association of Kenya (ABA) officials that the International Boxing Association (AIBA) prohibited anyone who had reached that age to take part in amateur boxing. (AIBA revised the rule on April 2013, raising the age limit for boxers taking part in the Olympics from 34 to 40).” 

Akhasamba says that he made his professional debut against Abdul Kadu of Uganda at City Hall, Nairobi, on October 1, 1994 in a four round contest and won on knockout in round one. His next fight was a six round contest against a fellow Kenyan, Paul Otewa, in Machakos whom he knocked out in round three.

His real test came when he met strongly built Thomas “Black Rhino” Okusi in another eight round fight at City Hall. Akhasamba knocked out Okusi in round three.

He then fought Christopher Sirengo who traded blows with him toe-to-toe for 10 grueling rounds at Nairobi’s Nyayo Basketball Gymnasium. Akhasamba, however, won on points. 

Akhasamba impressed the Kenya Professional Boxing Commission (KPBC) with his performance and he was given him a chance to fight for an African title against Emmanuel Chukwa of Nigeria.

The fight was staged in Nairobi on September 26, 1999, and Akhasamba won in the fifth round via technical knockout. The victory opened the way for Akhasamba to challenge for a world title, WBB.

Akhasamba’s last professional fight was on February 24, 2006 for the vacant Global Boxing Union (GBU) heavyweight title against Russian pugilist, Dennis Bathtub at Yugorsk in a 10 round bout that Akhasamba lost on points. However, his efforts earned him Sh720,000 (US$ 8,000).

When asked what he does for a living after hanging up his gloves as a professional boxer, Akhasamba, a grandfather of two boys said: “I operate a Posho-mill at Lunga Lunga, Nairobi and another one at Kwisero, Kakamega. 

He said that he is also a farmer in Kwisero where he grows maize and beans, and  keeps grade cows.

Akhasamba was retrenched by Kenya Breweries in 1998 together with the majority of boxers and footballers, who represented the company in sports.

To give back to the community, Akhasamba says he has started a boxing club in Khwisero, Kakamega County but his boys did not take part in the national boxing league that took place in Kisumu from March 23-25.

He says the boxers are not yet ripe for such a major event as none of them had passed national intermediate championship.

Joseph Akhasamba  (left) fights Mustapha Noor in an all-Kenyan pro event at Pal Pal gymnasium, Pumwani Social Hall, Nairobi, on November 13, 2008. He knocked out Noor in the second of their scheduled eight-round bout. PHOTO | FILE |

One of Akhasamba’s sons has followed in his footsteps and is training at Kayole Boxing club, under coach Kenneth ‘Valdez’ Ochieng and the coach says the youngster has great prospects in the sport.

Benson Akhasamba is a promising Southpaw boxer (southpaw is a boxing stance where a boxer has his right hand and right foot forward, leading with right jabs. It is a normal stance for a left hander.) Benson has just passed national intermediate and I do not want him to take part in the national league before he has matured.”

He added: “There was a coach who wanted junior Akhasamba to represent them in the national boxing league in Kisumu, but I advised him against the move.”

Ochieng also says he wants the boy to meet and beat all Nairobi-based boxers in his weight category first, in the hope that it will make him understand boxing is not a one way traffic affair in which you only beat others without getting beaten yourself.

He says Benson has to learn that to be a good boxer one must have the capability to absorb punches.

While the senior Akhasamba remains the only Kenyan male boxer to have won a professional world boxing title, female pugilists have done far much better in this aspect. Last October 1, Fatuma Zarika Njeri, won the prestigious female World Boxing Council (WBC) super bantamweight world title when she dethroned Jamaican lass, Alicia Ashley on points, in Michigan USA.

Previously, Njeri won the Women’s International Boxing Federation (WIBF) and Global Boxing Union (GBU) bantamweight world titles.

Conjestina ‘Hands of Stone’ Akinji, Kenya’s most celebrated female boxer also reigned as a WIBF, GBU and World Boxing Federation (WBF) middleweight world champion for a while.

It has to be noted though that Akhasamba joined the paid ranks after a successful amateur career, something that other boxers who wish to turn professional should really consider. There are no short cuts.