Kenya’s Javan Buyu and Catherine Nanziri of Uganda headlined an action-packed SportPesa Boxing Night with devastating stoppage victories at the Edge Convention Centre in South C, Nairobi, on Saturday night.
Buyu stopped Tanzania’s Ramadhan Idd in the second round to capture the vacant UBO Intercontinental lightweight title, adding it to his National Lightweight and Pugilistic Syndicate of Tanzania (PST) lightweight crowns.
Earlier, Uganda’s Nanziri dismantled Tanzania’s Husna Zamba in just one minute and seven seconds of the opening round to lift the vacant PST super bantamweight title, adding to her Ugandan national, East and Central Africa and Africa Boxing Union (ABU) lightweight belts.
The main event began at a frantic pace as Idd used his speed and timing to trouble Buyu in the opening exchanges.
However, Buyu gradually wrestled control with punishing attacks to the body before ending the contest with a crushing body shot that left the Tanzanian clutching his ribs and unable to continue after two minutes and 13 seconds of the second round.
Buyu said the finish was no accident after his team identified a weakness in Idd’s game.
“The fight wasn’t easy. It was tough, but it was part of the plan… to pressure him in the first few rounds, maybe up to the fifth, then start boxing with him,” he said.
“We watched clips from his previous fights and one thing was certain—he had never been touched on the body. So the moment I started landing punches to the body, he started clinching and getting scared of fighting. But I’ll say he had good timing in the first round.”
The victory carried extra emotional significance.
“It feels great to win the UBO title. Winning in front of my mum was one of my dreams. It feels very good.”
Buyu thanked his promoters before outlining his ambitions.
“I’d like to thank UFS, SportPesa and promoter Maurice Odera for choosing me and giving me this golden opportunity to represent Kenya and become a champion,” he said.
“As I said earlier, I wish to mentor and encourage young fighters. Additionally, I’m looking forward to representing Kenya on bigger stages and globally.”
Nanziri was equally dominant, overwhelming Zamba from the opening bell in their rematch before the referee halted the contest.
First, the Uganda split her opponent’s lower lip with a jab and then delivered a devastating shot to the right of Zamba’s torso that left her unable to continue.
“The fight was so easy for me because I think I prepared so much better and trained hard. That’s why I fought easily,” said Nanziri.
“In camp, I had the best coaches and the best sponsors—Friends of Boxing. It’s a great pleasure that I’ve been supported well to reach this win.”
She insisted the early finish was never part of the plan.
“It wasn’t my plan to finish the fight in the first round. I had prepared to go for all eight rounds. But I was so good… that’s why I won the fight in the first round,” she said.
Nanziri rejected suggestions of a mismatch.
“It wasn’t a mismatch. It’s me who trained hard. My coach is an Olympian and so am I. She (Zamba) came for revenge, I came for the win.”
The Ugandan now has her sights firmly set on a world title, saying: “I’m now looking forward to the WBC title. I’m so ready.”
Away from the title fights, the undercard delivered a string of explosive finishes.
DR Congo’s Lucien Botumbe stopped Uganda’s Taafi Odoyi in the second round of their super middleweight contest, while Kenya’s Michael Oduor needed just one minute and 17 seconds of aggressive boxing to dispatch Uganda’s Fredrick Okou in their super welterweight bout.
Kenyan flyweight Jin Shen produced another stoppage, forcing a fourth-round technical knockout over the debuting compatriot Calvin Omondi.
Morocco’s Nasro Habib delivered arguably the most spectacular finish of the night, flattening Kenya’s Nicodemus Hagai with a first-round knockout after one minute and 24 seconds.
However, several bouts went the distance.
Kenya’s Musa Najib defeated Uganda’s Ignatius Onyango by unanimous decision in the light heavyweight contest, while Jamal Hathwani upset Morocco’s Hamsa Bounabri by unanimous decision in the featherweight division.
Alice Waiyego edged Uganda’s Mercy Acayo by split decision in the women’s featherweight contest, Ethiopia’s Roman Asefa earned a unanimous decision over Kenya’s Jane Kavulani, and Teddy Murimi outpointed compatriot Meshack Okuku by unanimous decision in the super welterweight division.
The scheduled super lightweight contest between Kenya’s John Juma and Uganda’s Ben Ssababi was declared a no contest after Ssababi failed his pre-fight medical.
SportPesa Head of Marketing Senorine Wasike described the event as another milestone in the company’s investment in Kenyan boxing.
“It’s been a fantastic night. We’ve had SportPesa Boxing and it’s been an exciting night,” she said.
She noted that Buyu emerged through the SportPesa-backed Rising Stars programme.
“We also sponsor the Rising Stars, which Javan was part of. We’ve seen him not only grow but also get some wins. Next, we are planning a bigger fight in November, so look out for us.”
Promoter Maurice Odera of UFS BXNG praised the quality of the card despite a few late setbacks.
“Tonight’s fights were amazing apart from a few challenges. We had one fighter from Uganda who didn’t pass his medical and we also had three pull-outs, which meant late replacements. But all in all, everything has gone well,” said Odera.
“The support we are getting from SportPesa is unbelievable. Without them, there’s no high-level boxing in Kenya. Ever since we joined forces, we are now the only ones doing high-level boxing,” he added.
Odera singled out Buyu as Kenya’s next major boxing star.
“The cream of the crop was Javan Buyu. We are taking him to the world stage. We will expose him gradually. Winning this belt makes him the number one-ranked Kenyan in the division,” he said.
“SportPesa took him under their wing when he was still young and we are going to take him all the way to a world title since they believe in champions in addition to their focus on grassroots development.”
