National Open: Kibira quits Ukasha’s welterweight
Kibira (C) is a trump card. PHOTO/JOHN BATANUDDE
What you need to know:
This switch means Kibira, the 2023 welterweight league champion, must start afresh in the National Open Boxing Championship.
Owen Kibira vs Ukasha Matovu, one of the most thrilling rivalries of the past two seasons of the Uganda Boxing Champions League will not happen in Season Three after Kibira chose to abandon welterweight for light middleweight.
This switch means Kibira, the 2023 welterweight league champion, must start afresh in the National Open Boxing Championship, which starts Monday at Lugogo Indoor Arena, and reach the finals if he is to return to the league. But why did he choose to reinvent the wheel?
“It’s my coach’s decision. I am a soldier. I must obey the orders,” Kibira told Daily Monitor, without divulging the genesis of this order. “But I am comfortable because I sometimes had to trim from 71kg to fight at 69kg. So, I am okay.”
Isaac Zebra Ssenyange and Muzamir Ssemuddu, the fierce foes in light middleweight, will not feature in Season Three. Zebra has already fought thrice since his professional debut on December 29. Ssemuddu may also turn pro very soon.
Could Kibira have seen an easier challenge in light middleweight which is vacated by its best two boxers? Or he is avoiding the rivalry with Matovu?
“Not really, Ukasha doesn’t scare me at all. I am the welterweight champion. I fear no one, not even in light middle. But it’s good to look for new challenges,” Kibira said.
In 2022, Kibira featured at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and the African Boxing Championships in Maputo, Mozambique before missing international assignments in 2023.
On his return among the Bombers, Kibira defeated Equatorial Guinea’s Billigraham Nze in the Men’s 67kg Round of 16, but lost the quarterfinal test to Tunisia's Romdhani Zakaria 5-2 after bout review.
If he is serious about future international assignments and making a name that may attract big promotions, he must start with sweeping his opponents at the National Open, where he got a bye to the quarterfinals, awaiting the winner between Muhammad Mayanja and Maxwell Ojambo.
“I have no doubt about that. He has trained very well. He must win that title,” his coach Juma Nsubuga told Daily Monitor.
National Open
Light middleweight - Selected Bouts
Muhammad Mayanja (Gideon) vs Maxwell Ojambo (Subena)
Umar Nvule (Sparks ) vs Aron Kisakye (Nakawa)
Jonathan Waswa (UPDF) vs Bashir Sserugo (Zebra)
