Opponent tags Golola’s title win on Ugandan ref
Golola takes a kick from Shija as Ugandan referee Wandera Mugoya looks on. COURTESY PHOTO
What you need to know:
- Golola, who thrived most on his boxing ability, threw more punches than kicks that threatened to floor his opponent showing need to master mandated Muay Thai fighting style.
- Golola, in his mid-thirthies, has now fought 30 matches, won 24 and lost six.
KAMPALA. Controversy, comedy and sheer power have always characterized East and Central kickboxing champion Moses Golola’s fights, and Saturday’s point-decision win over Tanzanian Emmanuel Shija in Nairobi was not different.
Veteran Ugandan referee Charles Wandera Mugoya, who has handled most of Golola’s main fights in Kampala, flew to Nairobi to officiate the contest, something Shija vehemently disputed.
“The referee was unfair. He gave a lot of attention to his compatriot Golola and never let me hit him hard,” said the Tanzanian champion.
Golola, who thrived most on his boxing ability, threw more punches than kicks that threatened to floor his opponent showing need to master mandated Muay Thai fighting style.
“Right now he is thinking of Golola. Even if you ask him his name he will say Golola. He is not my class and everybody has seen that. I’m not moved by his excuses,” said the comical fighter after the five-round bout that had all the three judges ruling in his favour.
Golola, now the Xtra Kombat Muay Thai Africa title champion, chose Nairobi as a venue to stage his rematch with Shija who he had beaten in Jinja in 2014 and easily won as the modicum Kenyan audience cheered on at Kasarani Indoor Stadium.
Golola, in his mid-thirthies, has now fought 30 matches, won 24 and lost six.
