Africa-Press – Kenya. With two bronze medals already safely tucked inside his bag, Kenyan pugilist George Cosby Ouma now has his sights firmly set on clinching gold.
Cosby, 25, reckons the forthcoming Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games in July will offer him a glorious opportunity to embellish his cabinet with the elusive gong.
“I’m burning the midnight oil in search of gold. I have already won two bronze — one during the 2019 Africa Games in Morocco and another one at the Africa Zone 3 Games held last year in Kinshasa, Congo,” said Cosby.
However, the Kenya Police constable must first punch furiously on the bag to overcome his weight concerns and eventually adapt to his new role in the boxing ring before he sets out to achieve his lifetime dream.
The middleweight division had become his forte for the entire decade he toiled in the ring, but a weight battle that has dogged him over time has ultimately left him navigating and groping for recognition in unfamiliar territory.
Cosby, who shaped his path at the Kisumu Combined Boxing Club, says he is ready to grapple with all the challenges he is bound to encounter in the light heavyweight after switching from the middleweight division due to his ballooning weight.
“My biggest challenge has been transitioning from the middleweight to light heavyweight. So far, I’ve struggled to record positive results in my new weight category but I’m determined to turn around my fortunes before the Commonwealth Games,” said Cosby.
“After battling to retain the right weight for the middleweight division, I made the tough choice to switch to light heavy which is my natural weight. That’s because I previously had two battles in hand.
“You see, I had to train hard to shed off some weight and at the same time prepare for bouts. That has proved to be too much work for me and that’s why I decided to switch to my natural weight category,” said Cosby.
The pugilist believes Hit Squad’s flop at the AIBA World Men’s Boxing Championship in Serbia offered some pertinent lessons they could use to turn around their fortunes.
“ We encountered a dismal performance in Belgrade because we were not inducted to changes in the scoring system in good time,” said Cosby.
“AIBA has previously held meetings with boxers to alert them to any changes shortly before competitions, and it is unfortunate we didn’t get such a privilege before traveling to Serbia.”
Cosby, however, believes it’s high time boxers from the continent changed their approach at the battlefield.
“It is true African boxers rely heavily on power to win their bouts as opposed to boxers from other continents who employ more technique. I think we need to change our approach if we are serious about matching the global standards,” said Cosby.
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