Africa Zone III bantamweight champion, Shaffi Bakari, will be eyeing a gold medal at the 13th All-African Games next year in Ghana.
In an exclusive interview on Monday, Bakari said he had gleaned some pertinent lessons from his loss at the Africa Boxing Championship in Maputo last month, where he crashed in the quarterfinals.
“I'm certainly determined to add a second gold to my medal cabinet and I'm working hard to claim the title at the next All Africa Games next year," Bakari said.
Asked why he fell short of bagging a medal in Maputo, Bakari attributed his average performance to a change of weight category.
“It might take a while before I get to settle in the bantamweight which I'm not used to. Initially, I contested in the light fly but the Olympic Committee said the category would not be included in future events and so I decided to shift to the flyweight and then to the bantamweight," Bakari explained.
“It has been a challenge fighting in this category considering there are boxers who have scaled down from the upper divisions and who have more stamina than me,” he added.
The diminutive National Police Service officer, however, said he would not be cowed by boxers who boast of a bigger body frame than his.
“I'm not, however, going to use that as a scapegoat. I'm more determined than before to win gold and the All Africa Games will offer me a good opportunity to fulfil my desires.”
Bakari comprised the Kenya Police boxing team (Chafua Chafua) that clinched the first leg of the National Boxing championship staged at Kiminini in Trans Nzoia county last week.
He made light work of Dennis Mwendwa of the Kenya Defence Forces to lay claim to the men's bantamweight title.
Tutored by Hit Squad assistant coach Dave Munuhe, the law enforcers dominated the proceedings to amass 27 points in the three-day event.
Munuhe extolled his charges for displaying great character to emerge champions.
“We have fired warning shots and we are still eager to defend our title. That's the motivation heading into the next two final legs of the national championship," Munuhe said.
The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), finished second with 26 points. Kibra and Kajiado tied in third with eight each while Kisumu accumulated six points to secure a fifth-place finish.
Vihiga were sixth in the standings with four points as G44 settled for seventh, after scoring three points.
Siaya garnered two points to secure an eighth-place finish with Trans Nzoia fizzling out to the ninth spot after collecting a solitary point.
Kongowea emerged from the competition empty-handed. A total of 84 boxers representing 10 teams participated in the event.
