Bombers unfazed by continental debut
Bantamweight Isaac Masembe (left), seeks to leave a mark on his continental debut. PHOTO BY ISMAIL KEZAALA.
Nineteen-year old Joshua Tukamuhebwa is the youngest of the eight Bombers at the All-Africa Games but he is also one of Uganda’s medal hopes. The youngster is not only gifted but also a product of experience.
All over his lanky body Tukamuhebwa has the fingerprints of 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth gold medalist Hussein Khalil and his twin brother Hassan Khalil, who have shaped him since he threw his first punch in 2010 in East Coast gym when he was only nine.
He has the pace, the power packed in that lethal right hook and the heart to scare any opponents on the local scene, though he sometimes tires due to giving his all the moment the bell goes.
“I want to win gold,” he said immediately after he was confirmed among the lucky eight on Monday. “Like you said it’s hard but it feels great winning gold on your debut; you become a hero, and that’s my goal.
“My biggest nightmare is shedding weight but this time I’ve had enough time to do it. I’m fit and ready.”
He is the reason why sensational Yasin Adinan is not part of this team since he outpointed him in the inaugural eliminations and a continental medal shall be a consolation to Team Adinan.
Isaac Masembe upstaged favourites to win the national bantamweight title but missed the 2017 African Confederation Championship because he was underage. He participated in the inaugural East African Games in Burundi last year but Rabat presents his first major national duty. Just weeks to his 20th birthday, Masembe is targeting a gold medal en route to his ultimate dream. “My long-term target is Olympic gold,” he told us. “That I can realise it I have to begin proving my worth in Morocco.”
Champion Businge is living his best year since he begun boxing in 2007. He is the national light flyweight champion and is the one who eliminated Police BC teammate and crowd darling Moses Kabuuka, in the early eliminations in May.
Sealing this fairytale run with ‘any medal’, as he says, would be the best gift for his number one fan, his father Cuban Businge, the founder of professional boxing in Uganda.
“I know the continental challenge is tough but believe that when the gloves are on I can beat anyone,” he says.
Unfinished business
Captain Musa Shadir Bwogi also has a goal of winning a major medal for his country before he goes professional. He missed that chance in Gold Coast last year as his unheralded East Coast teammate Juma Miiro scooped bronze at the Commonwealth Games. Shadir, boxing in welterweight, thinks this could be his moment.
Middleweight David Ssemuju also has unfinished business. He thinks he could have done better in Gold Coast had he not been forced to shed 12 kilos in one week. “This time I don’t have such worries, I have the energy, and in the camp we have emphasised technique,” he said. “I know African opponents are stronger and know us better than those in Commonwealth but we equally know them and I try to prove my worth.”
Even their female counterpart Hellen Baleke is dreaming of gold. She wants to prove that the five-year sabbatical since her dismal show at the 2014 World Championships in Jeju, Korea has not made her worse.
Uganda last won boxing gold at the All-Africa Games in 20 years ago in South Africa. In the recent edition in Congo-Brazzaville 2015, only Kennedy Katende got bronze. But even coach Muhammad Hassan Mulandi backs his boxers’ ambitions after all even Muzamir Kakande, Geoffrey Kaketo and David Ayiti, who won historic medals at the 2017 African Confederation Boxing Championship, were representing Uganda for the first time.
