Africa-Press – Kenya. Hit Squad welterweight pugilist Joseph Shighali says he will continue to punch furiously on the bag until he lives his ultimate dream of gracing the Olympic Games.
While admitting that his short-term objective is to battle for medals at the forthcoming African Boxing Championship in Cameroon and the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Shigali has vowed not to rest on his laurels until he secures an opportunity to battle at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
“Every pugilist’s dream is to fight at the Olympics and I wouldn’t be any different. I’m aware we have the African Boxing Championships and the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games also coming, but my key concern is securing a berth at the next Olympics,” said Shigali.
The National Police Service officer is fancied to book a national team slot after he proved his mettle at the two editions of the national trials held in Nairobi and Kisumu in November and December respectively.
Shigali was in a class of his own, thumping Lennox Kusimba of Kentrack on unanimous points decisions during both editions of the Jamal Cup boxing championships.
Shigali, however, holds Kenyan boxers are a step behind their colleagues on the global scene in terms of the prerequisite expertise.
“We still believe so much in aggressively approaching fights, hoping to win the bouts by destroying our opponents. However, that’s not necessarily the way to win a bout. Boxing has evolved and these days it’s all about punching the right places without necessarily employing a lot of force,” he said.
Shigali said it is this kind of archaic approach that cost the Hit Squad dearly at the World Men’s Boxing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.
“Whereas our opponents were let in on the newly introduced changes by their tacticians, we went into our bouts oblivious that the rules had been tinkered. It was only through some pep talk with our Cuban friends that we got to know what was expected in the ring, albeit too late,” he said.
“What’s important now is for our local referees and judges to attend many seminars to keep themselves abreast with the pertinent changes so that they can impart the knowledge to us in good time.
“I’m glad the Boxing Federation of Kenya (BFK) managed to organise a training course for local referees and judges last year. Hopefully, we shall see more of this in the coming months. It’s the only way to keep ourselves at par with the rest of the world,” said Shigali.
Shigali also highlighted the need to expose Hit Squad members to more tournaments to afford them platforms for sharpening their claws ahead of major global events.
“Being entered for competitions without adequate preparations has led to Hit Squad’s flop on the international stage. This is because we usually suffer from stage fright the moment we see foreigners in the ring. So, it’s only important that we get more opportunities to gauge ourselves against our opponents before major competitions,” he concluded.
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