Hit Squad captain Nick Okoth headlines a strong contingent of 12 Kenyan pugilists to an invitational tournament in Tanzania next week.
The team also has Martin Maina, David Karanja, Moses Kilavuka, Samuel Njau, Anthony Maina, Washington Wandera, Victor Odhiambo, Isaac Meja, Edwin Okong'o, Joshua Wasike and Steve Olang is set to leave for Tanzania on Monday.
Speaking Wednesday, Boxing Federation of Kenya (BFK) communications director Duncan Kuria said although the tournament excludes women's bouts, they are in constant communication with the organisers to see if Christine Ongare can be drawn against an opponent to help her gauge her mettle ahead of the IBA World Boxing Championships in Turkey.
Initially, only Kenya Police and Kenya Defence Forces had been invited but BFK chose to include other pugilists who are not affiliated with the two clubs to give them the necessary exposure ahead of major competitions lined up for the year.
“We have quite a number of boxers who don't ply trade for either Police or KDF but who equally need exposure ahead of the forthcoming international tournaments,” said Kuria.
In addition, Kuria said that KDF are yet to show any commitment to the tournament.
Meanwhile, Kenya are expected to tour Tanzania again next month for the Africa Zone 3 Boxing Championships.
The tournament will precede the Africa Boxing Championships in Cameroon in April.
The women's national team will then travel to Istanbul, Turkey for the IBA Women World Boxing Championships that will run between May 6 and 21.
Elsewhere, Kuria hopes the stalemate between the International Olympics Committee (IOC) and the International Boxing Federation (IBA) will be resolved before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
IOC announced Thursday boxing had tentatively been dropped from the list of sports lined up for the 2028 Games.
“The world boxing governing body, IBA, has been asked to address some pertinent issues raised by member associations including how points are awarded during competitions. Some boxers alleged biased officiating,” said Kuria.
“You realise that IOC sidelined IBA from the 2020 Tokyo Games following the concerns.”
On Thursday, the IOC session in Beijing approved a programme of 28 sports, with a strong focus on youth where skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing were included.
Boxing, weightlifting and modern pentathlon have been omitted from the initial programme for the Los Angeles Games.
However, the sports could be added to the programme next year if the umbrella federations successfully demonstrate they have addressed the concerns raised.
In September, an independent investigation found a system to manipulate the outcome of boxing matches by officials was in place at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
“Boxing's international federation, the AIBA, must show it has addressed concerns around the sport's governance and the integrity of its refereeing and judging processes,″ said IOC.
“Weightlifting must address the historic issue of doping within the sport, while modern pentathlon must finalise its replacement of showjumping while increasing its appeal to young people.”
