Members of the Kenya boxing team, Hit Squad, are set to proceed to camp on Friday to sharpen their claws ahead of the Africa Zone 3 Boxing Championship, head coach Benjamin Musa has revealed.
Also called up into the squad are female boxers who are limbering up for the AIBA World Women’s Boxing Championship scheduled for Istanbul, Turkey in May.
“Both the male and female boxers will train as a unit given we are pressed for time and, as such, can’t afford to establish two separate camps,” said Musa.
Musa is, however, quick to observe that the selection of the national team is still far from over.
He said coaches have their eyes firmly trained on the progress of vibrant budding boxers who have exhibited an amazing potential to fly the country’s flag on the international stage.
“The selection process has merely begun and we are closely monitoring the progress of some of the emerging boxers we spotted during the Kenya Novices Boxing Tournament that concluded at the Charter Hall in Nairobi over the weekend,” said Musa.
The gaffer said he was particularly impressed with the splendid show displayed by the Boxing Federation of Kenya-select squad that plundered eight medals at the East Africa Boxing Championship in Dar-es-salaam.
“There was a marked improvement in the performance of Hit Squad members compared to what they did in the past at the 2020 Tokyo Games and during the World Boxing Championship in Belgrade Serbia,” said Musa.
Hit Squad will look to save face in the upcoming shows after a miserable run in past contests left them with a severely battered image.
Meanwhile, Musa has strongly trashed assertions that profile African pugilists as too physical.
“I wish to deconstruct the notion that African boxers are more prone to employing brawn than technique in their bouts. Actually, one needs to have a fine blend of power and technique to register impressive results.”
“That notwithstanding, we are aware of the growing need to keep our boxers abreast of the frequent transformations in the scoring system. It is true we have been caught completely off guard in the past and we are not ready to suffer the same fate once more,” said Musa.
–the-star.co.ke
