•The event will feature top teams among them KDF, 1999 champions Kenya Prisons, Kibra, Nairobi, Mombasa County, Kisumu County and hosts Laikipia County among others.
•National team coach Benjamin Musa will be in Nanyuki to assessing the progress made by boxers since the third leg in Mombasa.
All African Games flyweight silver medallist Hassan Shaffi Bakari will be the highlight of the fourth leg of the Boxing Federation of Kenya (BFK), national league, starting today through to Saturday in Nanyuki.
The event promises thrills with Bakari’s fellow All Africa Games counterparts expected to feature prominently.
The event will be used as a yardstick to evaluate boxers’ fitness and capabilities ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic qualifiers which will be held in Dakar Senegal in February next year.
The event in Nanyuki will set the ball rolling for national trials for the Dakar extravaganza where Kenyans will fight for a share of African quotas for Tokyo 2020. The event will see also see boxers and teams resume their hunt for points in the national league.
However, the main kill for the fans will be witnessing first-hand scintillating action from All African Games medallists. Bakari, who is also the reigning Kenya champion, will feature for the star-studded leaders' Police team better known as “Chafua Chafua”.
All Africa Games welterweight bronze medallist Boniface Mugunde of Chafua Chafua will also be in action as will be his teammates and bronze medallists George Cosby (middleweight) and Elly Ajowi (heavyweight). Another Morocco bronze medallist Fredrick Ramogi returns to his super heavyweight division for Kenya Defence Forces.
The event will be held at Nanyuki Social Hall and will feature top teams among them KDF, 1999 champions Kenya Prisons, Kibra, Nairobi, Mombasa County, Kisumu County and hosts Laikipia County among others.
National team coach Benjamin Musa who led the Team Kenya to five medals in the recent continental extravaganza in Morocco, will be in Nanyuki to assessing the progress made by boxers since the third leg in Mombasa.
“We will be looking at how far our boxers can go in terms of skill and fitness. It has been a long break for the league since Mombasa where the third leg took place and I’m sure everyone is itching to jab,” said Musa, who became the first coach since the 1987 All Africa Games in Nairobi to bring more than four medals.
“I’m sure after a good showing in Morocco all boxers are hoping to up their game. Those in the national team are eager to keep their positions while the rest are determined to make their presence felt in Nanyuki. I’m sure boxers aren’t rusty as there has been lots of action at county level since Mombasa league in July,” Musa said. The national team coach said they will host trials to select a team for the Tokyo 2020 qualifiers in Senegal.