Stylish youngster Mawanda quits Dakar head high

Bombers captain Joshua Tukamuhebwa was the only winner among Uganda’s three quarterfinalists at the African Olympic Boxing Qualifier in Dakar, Senegal on Wednesday but youngster Shafick Mawanda’s loss showed signs of a champion in the making.

Tukamuhebwa beat Tunisia’s Dridi Mehdi by unanimous decision in the first men’s 63.5kg quarterfinal, to set up a fourth meeting with his tormentor Richarno Colin, of Mauritius, who defeated Morocco’s Abdelhaq Nadir by split decision. Colin, a three-time Olympian, had beaten Tukamuhebwa in the past three meetings, most recently at the African Championships in Yaounde, Cameroon last month.

But almost the same time Tukamuhebwa was entering the blue corner of Ring A, Mawanda was exiting the blue corner of Ring B, after a 5:0 loss to Ghana’s Theophilus Allotey in the men’s 51kg quarterfinal.

The scorecard does not tell Mawanda’s entire story. The pintsized boy from Kawaala, in suburban Kampala, gave us a spirited fight. What he lacks in height he has it in the heart. With excellent footwork, he hunted down his lanky opponent all night, and swung ferocious hooks. Many missed Allotey’s head in the first round. And Allotey countered effectively.  

But when Mawanda concentrated on the less mobile body, especially in the second round, Allotey felt it and ended the fight breathing heavily.

If the Ghanaian was not as intelligent to move and occasionally throw a jab and a hook or two, Mawanda would have been more dominant and maybe landed a killer punch.

That is the same confidence and hunger that gave Mawanda a 5:0 victory against Senegal’s Mamadou Pape Sow, who was nearly twice his height, in the Round of 16 on Monday.

Such reminisces his performances on the national scene. And if he maintains that confidence, and further sharpens his skills and gets more international exposure, the lad who joined boxing last year, may scale the heights of his idol Muzamir Kakande, who hailed from the same Kalinabiri gym and won continental gold in Brazzaville in 2017.

The judges from USA, Bulgaria, Canada, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, and referee Maria Rizzardo, who also officiated Isaac Zebra Ssenyange’s 4:1 loss to Lesotho’s Michael Pakela, will see a much better boxer in the near future.

It could not be as soon as the two World Olympic qualifiers in Italy and Thailand early next year. But it could be at any major tournament.

BOMBERS QUARTERFINAL RESULTS

Joshua Tukamuhebwa 5:0 Mehdi Dridi (Tunisia)

Michael Pakela (Lesotho) 4:1 Isaac Zebra Ssenyange

Theophilus Allotey (Ghana) 5:0 Shafick Mawanda