Kenya Olympics-bound boxing captain Nick Okoth led by example on Thursday as he beat Ukrainian Sergey Kisko to book a place in the semi-finals of the ongoing Konstantin Kototkov Memorial International tournament in Russia.
Okoth’s win in the featherweight bout was a sweet revenge for the losses suffered by his female compatriots Elizabeth Akinyi and Christine Ongare.
Recently promoted to the rank of sergeant in the Kenya Defence Forces, Okoth is hoping to crown what has been an exemplary last 16 months with a medal at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
“It’s been long since we took the ring and this tournament is our second international match. It’s a build up tournament where we are meant to sharpen our skills and erase our weaknesses. So we are not under any pressure to win,” said Okoth.
While Ongare lost on a unanimous points decision, Akinyi’s tie had to be abandoned for precautionary measures.
“Eliza was bleeding in the mouth and it was not clear to the coach the cause of bleeding so he decided to take precaution and stop the fight,” revealed Boxing Federation Kenya (BFK) official, Duncan Kuria.