Kibira knocks out Nerrick, doubters
Nerrick Tumusiime on the canvas after being knocked down by Owen Kibira in the 71kgs bout at Lugogo. Photo/ John Batanude
What you need to know:
- Tumusiime will only watch this later because by then the doctor and his cornermen were trying to help him out of his stupor. But Kibira’s fans, smiling and shooting videos of glory, cared less.
If you have the crowds’ backing, the seniority and the urge to convert even the staunchest of doubting Thomases, the pressure to deliver, and superbly, becomes inevitable. That’s the story of Owen Kibira, a gifted but an underachieving boxer, who knows he can’t win the judges’ favour in a closely contested fight.
Now he’s making knockouts his only way to victory. And just last night during the 2024 Uganda Boxing Champions League finale, at the UMA Exhibition Hall, Kibira knocked out Nerrick Tumusiime with a ferocious combination that left everyone shocked.
Yet before that fifth round, Kibira was trailing. After a good first round, where he moved and rocked Tumusiime with hooks and uppercuts and forced a count, he slowed down in the second and third rounds, inviting pressure from an opponent whose second name is “aggression.”
This light middleweight duel was also a battle between two controversial cornermen, who posed their duties on the night: Abdul Tebazaalwa, a 1999 African Games gold medalist and now an outspoken commentator, entered Tumusiime’s blue corner while Hajj Juma Nsubuga, a ring MC, seconded Kibira in the red corner.
Like his nickname, Nerrick Bulabe was dangerous, often pinning Kibira against the ropes, leaving the senior boxer in a vulnerable position. Kibira ducked many of the potentially lethal shots but failed to counter with the uppercuts to Tumusiime’s open torso.
That left Kibira’s fans screaming his name, in frustration. They knew he knew better. Actually far much better; and that if the fight went the distance, their fighter would lose the verdict just like he did in the first meet at the National Open final in April.
Kibira, aka Matrix, needed something special. And flashes of it showed in the fourth round. He invested more in hard body shots, and whenever he hit the head, Tumusiime’s gum shield flew to the canvas—thrice in one round. On another occasion his nose spit mucus.
He felt Kibira’s improved pressure and power which had knocked out Bashir Serugo in one round and Ashiraf Mutaasa in four rounds. Kibira started believing and in the fifth round, racing against time, he went full throttle against an unrelenting opponent. In the exchange, four shots made the difference: a heavy left hook to the upper body shook Tumusiime, but he kept coming. A right hook missed the head and brushed his right ear with ferocity. Another left hook, to the jaw, shook him off balance like a weak tall tree resisting a violent wind. This would have been enough. But fully-charged, Kibira quickly followed it up with a right hook above Tumusiime’s left ear. He fell so hard against his right hand, his head bouncing off the canvas. It was over. Kibira jumped in jubilation, hugging his coach, guardian and number one fan Hajji Juma.
Tumusiime will only watch this later because by then the doctor and his cornermen were trying to help him out of his stupor. But Kibira’s fans, smiling and shooting videos of glory, cared less.
About two minutes later, Tumusiime was helped back to his feet, and when he hugged Hajj Juma, he told him “I told you…Owen is deadly,” a verse that trended in the arena.
“A lot was said after the National Open. I have lived with that pain quietly, but I believed in my ability and my God. Today, I proved what I am capable of,” said the victor. The only league champion over two weight divisions, having won the welterweight title last year, when arch-rival Ukasha Matovu dodged the 2023 final. Ukasha again missed the title after willingly losing to young clubmate Nuhu Batte.
SELECT CHAMPIONS ON BOXING DAY
CORPORATE FIGHT: Ricky Man def. Grenade, 4-1
71KGS: Owen Kibira Lukanga def. Nerrick Tumusiime (Kol.H), KO
54KGS: Nadia Najjemba (Lukanga) def. Sauda Muhammed (Police), 5-0
51KGS: Moses Kimera (Cobap) def. Shafick Mawanda (UBF), RSC-5
57KGS: Kasim Murungi (Eastcoast), def. Henry Kimuli (Mutajjazi), RSC-3
60KGS: Jimmy Adriko (KCCA) def. Ibrahim Kemis (Mutajjazi), 4-1
63.5KGS: Paul Raskara Kcca def. Innocent Amoko (UPDF), WO
67KGS: Nuhu Batte (Cobap) def. Ukasha Matovu (Cobap), 4-3
