Bombers to win at least $40,000 from Cameroon
Bombers come together to celebrate Wasswa's progress to the final. PHOTO/AKRAM MBABAZI
What you need to know:
Nankinga lost her semifinal to DR Congo’s Muamba Nyembo but her five teammates still had the chance to replicate Ssali’s performance and double their harvest.
Lightweight Wasswa Ssali stormed the finals of the 2023 Africa Confederations Boxing Championship in Yaounde, Cameroon on Thursday doubling his money bag to $10,000. That means all the seven Ugandans in the medal bracket will bring home at least $40,000 (Shs145m) in prize money.
Ssali, who gave Uganda the first taste of victory in the tournament, defeated DR Congo’s Idris Kitangila to book a place in the gold medal match.
Of the 17 Bombers, superheavyweight Solomon Geko, flyweight Grace Nankinga and light welterweight Erina Namutebi were the first ones to enter the money bracket since pre-tournament draws sent them directly to the semis.
Middleweight Ronald Faizo Okello, female welterweight Emily Nakalema, welterweight Ukasha Matovu and Ssali boxed their way into the money bracket, where each is assured of a bronze medal and at least $5,000.
It is the first of a kind for amateur boxers to attract a penny of foreign currency, since Uganda’s first participation in international tournaments in the early 1950s.
The historic revenue is a result of the innovations by the International Boxing Association (IBA), which started rewarding all medallists of all world and continental boxing championships in 2021.
Prize money is one of IBA’s attempts to buy boxers’ loyalty and reduce the temptation of going professional—which was nicknamed the “paid ranks”.
Each gold medallist at the 2023 World Boxing Championships bagged $200,000 (Shs788m). And IBA president Umar Kremlev promised to increase that prize to $1m by 2027.
Last year, middleweight Yusuf Nkobeza and featherweight Jonah Kyobe got $2500 each, for winning bronze medals. Now that was doubled to $5,000, silver to $10,000 and gold $15,000. It was initially $20,000, but was reduced to give $1250 to losing quarterfinalists.
Nankinga lost her semifinal to DR Congo’s Muamba Nyembo but her five teammates still had the chance to replicate Ssali’s performance and double their harvest.
Okello and Matovu were due to face DR Congo opponents by press time, while Geko, Namutebi and Nakalema are in action on Friday.
