Kenya’s pro-pugilist Daniel Wanyonyi has vowed to recapture his African Boxing Union light-heavyweight title which he last won on June 28, 2014.
Wanyonyi, 39, made the remarks after thumping Tanzania’s showboating Karim ‘Mtu Kazi’ Mandonga in a tightly-contested non-title light heavyweight bout at the Sarit Expo Centre in Nairobi on Saturday night.
“Of course, I’m working toward reclaiming the ABU light heavyweight title and I believe I’ve now trained well enough to steer myself to victory,” Wanyonyi said.
He added that victory over Mandonga was a clear sign he had rediscovered his mojo.
“I am not just back, but I am much better than I ever was. This triumph means a lot to me. When I first met Mandonga, I hadn’t trained well,” Wanyonyi said. “I lost to the Tanzanian on technical knockout on January 14 at the Kenyatta International Convention Center, so this is a nice kind of retaliation for me.”
Wanyonyi unleashed a flurry of potent jabs to floor his opponent twice before cruising to victory on a unanimous point decision.
The three judges, George Athumani, Wycliffe Marende and Leonard Wanga scored 100-88, 100-88 and 100-80 respectively in Wanyonyi’s favour.
Mandonga was spared by the bell in the sixth round as referee Julius Odhiambo gave a standing count to allow him some breathing space. He also kissed the canvas in the tenth round but managed to survive the count once again.
Wanyonyi, who traditionally hones his skills at the Pal Pal gym in Nairobi, said he is eager to leverage the best training facilities in town as he hoists his career to unprecedented levels.
“I’m confident of performing well in my future bouts since I’m now doing all my sessions in a modern and well-equipped gym at the Nyayo Stadium,” Wanyonyi said.
The Kenyan will have to hammer away indefatigably to wrestle the ABU light-heavyweight title from South African Thomas Oosthuizen who bagged it on April 28, 2017.
Wanyonyi expressed confidence he would prevail over Mandonga in their next slug-off.
“He felt what I am made of and I want a rematch to teach him more lessons,” Wanyonyi said.
This was his second straight win after he defeated Charles Kakande of Uganda on TKO at the Kasarani Indoor Arena on March 25.
Meanwhile, Mandonga conceded defeat but vowed to reclaim the bragging rights in their next face-off.
Mandonga stated: “Wanyonyi was a better boxer. Congrats to him for a well-deserved victory. I still believe I am superior to him because I defeated him before he received a unanimous verdict to win. He won’t ever knock me out.”
“I want to battle him once again in his backyard. I’ll make sure to teach him a lesson he won’t forget,” Mandonga swore.
