Kaggwa set to watch Rio boxing with envious eye

KAMPALA- When Daily Monitor raised boxer Fazil Juma Kaggwa about a fortnight ago, he said he was at Wilfried Sauerland’s boxing stable in Germany, training for his first professional fight.

“I just need to be in camp for 75 days of solid training as my promoters plan for my build-up fights,” he revealed. He will not box at the Olympics. Going professional is not a problem, per se but Kaggwa’s absence in Rio de Janeiro should bother any Ugandan boxing follower.

Once the blue-eyed boy, Kaggwa won as many medals as favours, before falling out with administration at Lugogo. Trouble started in November 2015, when he failed to make the mandatory 49 kilogrammes for the light flyweight at the Aiba World Championships in Doha, Qatar.

The 2014 Commonwealth bronze medallist was accused of “gross indiscipline” and was indefinitely suspended from boxing for the national team. National coach Dick Katende suffered the same punishment.

The Uganda Boxing Federation (UBF) disciplinary committee took forever to sort out the matter, forcing the frustrated boxer to seek otherwise. In February 2016, amid the isolation,
Kaggwa was summoned to train with the national team ahead of the Aiba Africa Olympics Qualifiers, in Yaounde, Cameroon—Africa’s surest route to Rio. He was still dropped from the team even as most coaches pushed for his inclusion.

More dollars, more trouble
No one doubts Kaggwa’s boxing prowess but even his closest friends say his ways changed a lot since he started “earning dollars” from Aiba Pro Boxing (APB). Kaggwa himself admitted: “I can’t deny I changed but honestly, APB is completely a different proposition so obviously, I couldn’t be trained by any coach…that’s why some say I’m stubborn, proud…”
He also refused to pay a $700 (over Shs2m) fine for his weight blunders in Doha. To the administrators this was another insult. Kaggwa simply laughed them off.

Of the current crop of boxers, Kaggwa has been the most consistent and with more international experience.
None of his teammates at 2012 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships has been as successful.

Rogers Ssemitala, a former Bombers captain, has had a topsy-turvy amateur career since he lost his first bout at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games two years ago. He has gone professional while Emmanuel Nsubuga quit boxing.

Kaggwa’s Commonwealth bronze opened doors. His spell in APB, where he lost once and won once, gave him the international exposure necessary at the Olympics. Only Sweden-based Kennedy Katende, Ronald Sserugo, who will represent Uganda, compare. Any of Sula Ssegawa, Atanus Mugerwa, Willy Kyakonye and Nasser Bukenya, who all vanished in Europe and missed the last Olympics qualifiers in Baku, Azerbaijan, could have given Katende and Sserugo good company in Rio.

But Kaggwa shall follow the action at Riocentro-Pavilion 6 with an envious eye as some of his international opponents like Ireland’s Paddy Barnes (Commonwealth semi-final) and Argentina’s Leandro Blanc (APB) traverse the canvas.

Kaggwa at a glance

Name: Fazil Juma Kaggwa
Born: May 9, 1995 (age21), Naguru, Kampala, Uganda.
Rated at: Light flyweight
Stance: Southpaw
Stable: Wilfried Sauerland Boxing Promotions, Germany.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
November 2012: AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships in Armenia
2014: Commonwealth bronze in Glasgow
March 2015: National Open l.flyweight title
April 2015: Gold at the Nyerere Memorial Tournament in Tanzania
June 2015: Entered the Aiba Pro Boxing series (losing by majority decision to Argentina’s multiple champion Leonardo Blanc) in Guiyang, China.
July 2015: Beat Kornelis Kwangu Langu (Southeast Asian Games gold medallist) by majority decision in his second bout at the Aiba Pro Boxing series in Guiyang, China.
August 2015: Bronze at the Aiba Africa Confederations Boxing Championships (AFBC) thus qualifying for the Aiba World Boxing Championships in Doha, Qatar alongside Mike Ssekabembe, Rogers Ssemitala and Abdul Hassan.
September 2015: Lost at the quarters of the All-Africa Games in Brazzaville, Congo
October 2015: Failed a weight test and missed action at the Aiba World Boxing Championships in Doha, Qatar.