Cold weather fails to dampen boxers’ morale

Boxing. Uganda’s youth pugilists to know their foes after weigh-in today

It’s chilly in Yerenvan, Armenia at the moment. But the cold weather will not deter Ugandan pugilists as they attempt to clinch honours at the World Youth Boxing Championships.

Uganda’s five-man team is upbeat after spending three days in the country. “We are in good condition. We are training very well and everybody in the camp is in high spirits,” lightweight boxer Fazil Juma Kaggwa told Daily Monitor in a telephone interview yesterday.

“It is cold here but we are getting used. We are ready to win,” he added ahead of today’s weigh-in ceremony.

At least 75 countries are expected to participate in the biennial event which targets boxers under 19 years. Action starts later today and ends on December 8.

It is the first time Uganda is participating in an international event after four years of inactivity caused by administrative wrangles. The country missed out on the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2012 London Olympics.

akiyaga@ug.nationmedia.com