Okwiri gears up for no-title fight against Uganda’s Serunjogi
Kenya’s boxing sensation Rayton Okwiri will meet Ugandan John Serunjogi in a 10-round non-title middleweight fight on October 13 in Dar es Salaam in what is expected to be a regional supremacy battle.
Okwiri (7-0-1, 5 KOs) who has been in residential training in the US and Mexico since May is keen to go flat out in the duel. His opponent Serunjogi (8-1, 4KOs) is a tough fighter but the southpaw Okwiri is confident of putting up a good show.
The Kenya Prisons Officer has paid special tribute to his trainers during his stay in the Americas. Okwiri stated that he would not underestimate his challenger.
“I have never seen him in action but I cannot take him lightly because I know Ugandans are tough boxers,” said the boxer popularly referred to by his nickname of Boom Boom. He is set to leave the US tomorrow heading to Tanzania.
The pugilist who has been based in the US city of Boston is positive the intense training he has been receiving will be helpful. “I have trained very well here in Boston. Sparring in the US is like you are in a real contest; it is hard and intense. I have gained a lot from training in the US and Mexico. I appeal to Kenyans in Dar es Salaam to turn up in large numbers to cheer me.”
Okwiri has further thanked betting firm SportPesa for catering for his travel expenses from the US to Tanzania. “I am very grateful for their kind gesture. I thank the CEO Ronald Karauri for his support,” he added.
Okwiri’s fight in Tanzania is another project to help him get a world title fight in either the World Boxing Commission, World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation professional bodies.
The 35-year-old is featuring in one of the undercards of the seven-bout show.
