{"id":121289,"date":"2026-03-30T13:44:50","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T13:44:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/photos-top-regional-boxers-light-up-kigali-fight-night"},"modified":"2026-03-30T13:58:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T13:58:15","slug":"photos-top-regional-boxers-light-up-kigali-fight-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/photos-top-regional-boxers-light-up-kigali-fight-night","title":{"rendered":"PHOTOS: Top regional boxers light up Kigali Fight Night"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>The lights were no longer those of traffic, but of the ring, as fighters stepped in to battle for supremacy at the second edition of Kigali Fight Night, held at the heart of the Kigali Convention Centre roundabout on Saturday, March 28.<\/p>\n<p>Organised by Silverback Sports in collaboration with the Rwanda Boxing Federation, the one-day event brought together top fighters from Nigeria, Tanzania, Cameroon, Gabon, Uganda, DR Congo, and host Rwanda, showcasing some of the region\u2019s finest boxing talent in an electric atmosphere.<\/p>\n<p>The crowd came alive when Rwandan fighter Aimable Hagenimana faced Congolese opponent Muhindo Vianney Bahati. After four closely contested rounds, the fifth swung decisively in favour of the home fighter. Following a sharp dodge, Hagenimana landed a powerful left punch that ignited the crowd and secured a 17\u201315 win by the judges in one of the most thrilling bouts of the night.<\/p>\n<p>Another highlight came from Frank Kazungu\u2019s fight. After a slow start, the Rwandan boxer gradually took control, imposing his rhythm before finishing strongly. A decisive sequence forced the referee to stop the contest, awarding him a knockout victory over Uganda\u2019s Rogers Kamulegeya.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis victory means a lot to me. It wasn\u2019t an easy fight\u2014my opponent pushed me. Now I\u2019m going back to prepare for the next step,\u201d said Kazungu.<\/p>\n<p>Gabonese fighter Kassa Kingbo Odilon Hans also delivered a dominant performance, defeating Uganda\u2019s Saidi Chako in just two rounds to underline his power and preparation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis victory represents four months of hard work. It\u2019s not something I take for granted. I need to keep pushing for what comes next in June,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>High-level international bouts<\/p>\n<p>Several other fights added to the excitement of the night. Augustin Wisomba Mugunge (DRC) defeated Shetebo Bienfait (DRC), while Daniela Muleketsi Nsii (DRC) secured a fourth-round knockout victory over Uganda\u2019s Martha Akinyi in the women\u2019s category.<\/p>\n<p>Nigeria\u2019s Nene Joy Ojo beat Tanzania\u2019s Zawadi Kutaka, while Jerry Katamba (DR Congo) overcame Tanzania\u2019s Ali Mkojani.<\/p>\n<p>The bout between Algeria\u2019s Abderrezzak Lamrani and Malawi\u2019s Simion Tchetha kept fans on edge for eight intense rounds, with Lamrani eventually claiming victory on points.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was an incredible event\u2014everything was well organised. The fans were amazing. I will definitely come back to fight here again,\u201d Lamrani said after celebrating his 13th unbeaten win.<\/p>\n<p>In the final bout of the night, Cameroon\u2019s Tamba Merlin wasted no time asserting dominance, knocking out Tanzania\u2019s Kivu Karume in the second round to secure both victory and the title in spectacular fashion.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the ring<\/p>\n<p>Rwanda Boxing Federation senior coach Steve Samson highlighted the collective effort behind the event.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe became like a family. All the coaches worked together for weeks, and that\u2019s what made this event successful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>He also stressed that boxing goes beyond physical strength.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany people think boxing is just about throwing punches. It\u2019s more than that\u2014it\u2019s very mental. Boxing is like life: you take hits, you adapt, and you keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samson pointed to defence as a key area for improvement among fighters, noting that many focus too much on attack.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond competition, he described the event as a growing platform for African fighters to showcase their talent on a bigger stage.<\/p>\n<p>Minister of State for Sports Rwego Ngarambe reaffirmed the government\u2019s commitment to supporting all sports disciplines.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Ministry of State for Sports supports all disciplines to help athletes reach true professionalism while representing the country and bringing it pride and success,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>He also highlighted boxing\u2019s economic potential, describing it as not only a competitive sport but also a sector with strong business prospects.<\/p>\n<p>With strong organisation, international participation, and an engaged crowd, Kigali Fight Night delivered a memorable evening as boxing continues to grow in Rwanda.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Rwanda<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Rwanda. The lights were no longer those of traffic, but of the ring, as fighters stepped in to battle for supremacy at the second edition of Kigali Fight Night, held at the heart of the Kigali Convention Centre roundabout on Saturday, March 28. Organised by Silverback Sports in collaboration with the Rwanda Boxing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":121287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,18],"tags":[5278,9536,5285,777,758],"class_list":["post-121289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-boxing","tag-boxing-in-rwanda","tag-boxing-night-series","tag-kigali","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>PHOTOS: Top regional boxers light up Kigali Fight Night - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The lights were no longer those of traffic, but of the ring, as fighters stepped in to battle for supremacy at the secon ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/photos-top-regional-boxers-light-up-kigali-fight-night\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PHOTOS: Top regional boxers light up Kigali Fight Night\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The lights were no longer those of traffic, but of the ring, as fighters stepped in to battle for supremacy at the secon ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/photos-top-regional-boxers-light-up-kigali-fight-night\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-30T13:44:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-30T13:58:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/03\/sm_1774866377.516487.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/photos-top-regional-boxers-light-up-kigali-fight-night#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/photos-top-regional-boxers-light-up-kigali-fight-night\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"PHOTOS: Top regional boxers light up Kigali Fight Night\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-30T13:44:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-30T13:58:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/photos-top-regional-boxers-light-up-kigali-fight-night\"},\"wordCount\":658,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/photos-top-regional-boxers-light-up-kigali-fight-night#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/03\/sm_1774866377.516487.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Boxing\",\"BOXING IN RWANDA\",\"Boxing Night Series\",\"Kigali\",\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/photos-top-regional-boxers-light-up-kigali-fight-night#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/photos-top-regional-boxers-light-up-kigali-fight-night\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/photos-top-regional-boxers-light-up-kigali-fight-night\",\"name\":\"PHOTOS: Top regional boxers light up Kigali Fight Night - 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