Crawford inspires Uganda’s aspiring champions

Shadir Musa Bwogi boxed at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and after disagreeing with the amateur federation turned professional, hoping for the best. However, he feels he should have fought more than just seven times—all victories—in over two years and earned more but “politics” in the boxing circles.

Such stories don’t surprise Terence Crawford, a multiple world boxing champion, who has tasted the extremes of life in his 30-year career. To the Ugandan boxers, his response was encouraging.

“His remark that politics is not only in Ugandan boxing but everywhere is encouraging,” said African Boxing Union Super Middleweight champion John Serunjogi after Crawford’s visit at the National Council of Sports on Monday.

“I’ve suffered a lot. People have dismissed me because I didn’t do amateur boxing. But I have fought hard to get where I am and now I’m encouraged to get to the world level,” added Serunjogi, who stopped Egyptian Ahmed Boloshy to win the African title in August.

“It’s inspiring to be around greatness. He said politics is everywhere but you have to work hard to prove everyone wrong. That guy has worked hard. I once heard him say his first fight was $500. That’s the same amount I got for my first fight recently,” said Isaac Zebra Ssenyange, who turned professional on December 29, 2023, the third anniversary of his father’s brutal murder by state operatives.

“He’s come from the trenches and built an amazing record.” Crawford has won all his 41 fights (31 knockouts), winning world titles in four weight categories, among other honours.  

Crawford is too humble for his calibre, and has learnt lessons of self-restraint and patience, but in 2022 he sued his promoter Bob Arum for 11 years accusing him of “racial bias and breach of contract,” things he said damaged his career.

Another piece of advice: “Sometimes it depends on who you know, what you know. If everybody knows you for winning an Olympic gold medal, probably many people will want to sign you. The opportunities are gonna be bigger than if you just turned pro,” he told Uganda’s aspiring champions.

But Crawford embodies that hope for those boxers without Olympic clout because despite losing only 12 of his 70 amateur fights, he never boxed at the Olympics. He turned pro in 2008 after missing the Beijing Olympics but his first 12 fights were against ‘unknown’ opponents until his sparring mate-cum-mentor world champion Tim Bradley tasked their manager for better opportunities for the youngster.

Charity

Jamie Nollette taught Crawford when he was nine years old. “But I’m more interested in what he does outside the ring—caring about people, about kids. And the fact that he has traveled here when he could travel anywhere in the world makes me a proud teacher,” she said.

Fate separated them for years, later reuniting them on a mission to change lives in Omaha, Nebraska, and thousands of miles away in Africa.

In 2014, Crawford and Nollette, who founded Pipeline Worldwide, a charity that builds wells to give clean water to disadvantaged communities, visited Uganda and Rwanda.

On Monday, they visited Kampala Boxing Club, which groomed ex-world champions John ‘The Beast’ Mugabi, Cornelius Boza-Edwards, among others. They made donations at Nsambya Hospital in Kampala, before flying to Lacor Hospital in Gulu, to donate medical equipment and perform surgeries until Saturday.

On Sunday, they will visit a babies’ home in Omolo, also in northern Uganda, and the university for surgeons, which the Pipeline is constructing.

Salim Uhuru, the Uganda Professional Boxing Commission (UPBC) president was delighted by such works. “We can’t take it for granted. And please come again.”

BRIEFLY

Born: Omaha, Nebraska

World champion at: Lightweight

Light welterweight

Welterweight

Light middleweight

Hobbies: helping others