Kalule is Ugandan boxing’s greatest

KAMPALA. John ‘The Beast’ Mugabi’s current sojourn in Uganda has awakened a debate about just how the pantheon of Ugandan boxing’s all-time greats looks like. A boxing power-house, Uganda has churned out several distinguished pugilists, five of whom have gone on to be world champions.
Three of the aforesaid former world champions occupy the top three echelons of your columnist’s all-time list (sorry Kassim Ouma and Jackson Asiku!). Ayub Kalule tops the lot, with Mugabi and the unsung Cornelius Boza-Edwards completing the podium in that order.
Many will probably feel that Ouma has done enough to figure on the list. The former child solider has won 27 of his 32 bouts. One of those wins (against Verno Phillips) landed an IBF light middleweight title, and another (against Kofi Jantuah, when Ouma’s wrist movement saw him attempt and land a dumbfounding number of punches) an impressive title defence.
He might be at the end of his tether, but Ouma has always been a fine ambassador in the ring. The 36-year-old’s resilience saw him survive a drive-by shooting in 2002 and 12 rounds largely peppered with well-timed clenches from Jermain Taylor four years later.
These achievements notwithstanding, Ouma cannot lace Boza-Edwards’ boots. This is not to take anything from from the former UPDF boxer.
Ouma gave his all during his only shot at a major title in Taylor’s home town of North Little Rock, Arkansas, in December of 2006. Taylor, having then recently unified the WBC and WBO middleweight belts, was always going to be the favourite, and so it proved. Ouma’s 5ft 8in and just over 160lb frame could only do as much en route to losing a unanimous decision.
Yet Ouma has always remained a darling in the books of many Ugandans. Many welcomed him during his first visit to Uganda in the wake of his clemency from the Ugan-dan army (‘deserting’ the army in 1998 saw the boxer court trouble). That was in 2007, and the red carpet was rolled out. There was no red carpet to welcome Boza-Edwards in 2012.

Finding solace
Everything was low-key on Boza-Edwards’ return. Rated at light welterweight, lightweight and super featherweight, Boza-Edwards emigrated to London from a Ugandan tea plantation during the reign of Idi Amin. Still a teenager then, fleeing tyranny and oppression would take Boza-Edwards to a boxing gym. He would more than find solace hopping on the canvas.
He won 45 of his 53 professional bouts, including 34 KOs. With a crab-like southpaw stance, Boza-Edwards became a WBC world super featherweight titlist in March of 1981 with a unanimous decision over Mexican Rafael Limon. A maximum 15 rounds were slugged out back then, and two months later, Boza-Edwards needed 13 to hold off Bobby Chacon in his first title defence. In August that same year, the Ugandan ceded his title to Filipino Rolando Navarrete after suffering a surprise fifth round KO. Three matches within a six-month period had long sounded the death knell. Boza-Edwards didn’t despair. No.
He worked his way to getting two title shots, which he fluffed. He was also involved in Ring Magazine’s ‘Fight of the Year’ with Chacon in May of 1983. The fight itself was a bloodbath that left Boza-Edwards’ white trunks with a faded red hue to the front. The red hue was Chacon’s blood, but the American held on to take a memorable unanimous decision. Post match, Boza-Edwards blamed his boxing boots that skidded one too many times. Ugandans didn’t warm up to Boza-Edwards probably because he never represented the country at amateur level.
Mugabi did, winning silver at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Mugabi had a wide orthodox stance that wasn’t soft on the eye. His ticketing side was the knockout. He reeled off 16 of them in a row, helping himself to a WBC light middle-weight title on July 8, 1989. Five years before, Mugabi had gone toe-to-toe with then undisputed world middleweight champion, Marvin Hagler. The Ugandan came off sec-ond best in a truly memorable match. The first televised by Showtime!
Mugabi was quite something, but Kalule was truly in his own orbit. A world light middleweight title came in 1979. It was defended FOUR times! It was lost in June of 1981 when, lost in translation, the referee thought Kalule had thrown in the towel during a fight with Sugar Ray Leonard. Kalule was never the same after that loss despite winning 10 of his 13 bouts. He, however, had done enough in your columnist’s book to be considered Uganda’s best.

[email protected], @robertmadoi