‘Technical knockout’ for helmets
PHOTO | SULEIMAN MBATIAH Patrick Maina of Nakuru (left) trades punches with Kenya Defense Forces’ Nick Abaka at the 2nd Inter-Provincial National Boxing League tournament in June. Head gear for boxers have now been banned for men’s boxing through a unanimous decision by the Medical Commission of International Amateur Boxing Association.
What you need to know:
- The Medical Commission of International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) unanimously recommended removal of head guards in elite men’s competitions starting last month
- The removal of the gears is expected to decrease concussions
The fourth leg of the National Boxing League at the Machakos Community Hall proved a disastrous affair as 25 out of 53 pugilists got eye cuts, according to George ‘Foreman’ Onyango, the Kenya Police boxing coach, who is also the Amateur Boxing Association of Kenya treasurer.
Onyango said that boxers who are used to boxing wearing head guards for protection found themselves in unfamiliar environment without the head protectors.
UNANIMOUS DECISION
The Medical Commission of International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) unanimously recommended removal of head guards in elite men’s competitions starting last month. The removal of the gears is expected to decrease concussions.
“It is going to be really difficult for our boxers who are used to wearing head guards to adjust to the new mode. These boys even take water between training sessions, which was taboo to us.”
The Kenya Defence Forces middle-weight, Nick Ambaka, who won a welter-weight bronze medal in the 2011 World Military Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was one of the six KDF boxers who sustained cuts.
“It would be beneficial for Kenyan boxing if the Amateur Boxing Association of Kenya could also change the league format.”
He added: “If the league was on home and away basis between clubs the way it used to be, boxers would have enough time to recover from injuries.”
Ambaka said that he suffered an eye brow cut in the third round of the semifinal but soldiered on. But the cut aggravated in the final forcing the referee to stop contest in the third round, causing him to lose through a technical knockout.
“From now on, my boxing will be all long range. I will not allow myself to be involved in ‘in-fighting’.”
Kenneth ‘Valdez’ Ochieng, a former national welter-weight champion, who coaches boxing in one of the top boxing clubs in Denmark, Spartan Boxing Club, had this to say after watching the tournament: “The use of head guards had made Kenyan boxers lose the art of boxing.
POOR RING CRAFT
Their ring craft is extremely poor and, when attacked, they simply cover their faces in the comfort that the rest of the head is covered by headgear.”
“Coaches must now go back to the basics. In our boxing days, we were taught how to attack with a jab which kept your opponent at bay, but nowadays, so much has changed; boxing is like common street brawling.”
