Morocco retains overall title at AFBC African Boxing Championships despite strong competition from DR Congo
Morocco retained the overall crown despite strong opposition from the Democratic Republic of Congo in the final of the AFBC Men's and Women's African Boxing Championships on Saturday, October 26, 2024.
The Moroccans won the tournament for the second year in a row, taking home 10 gold, eight silver and three bronze medals. Hosts DR Congo secured second place overall with nine gold, five silver and seven bronze medals, while Kenya impressively improved from last year’s 17th place in Yaoundé to third place, finishing with one gold, two silver and five bronze. Senegal followed in fourth with one gold, two silver and four bronze, while Cameroon placed fifth with one gold, two silver and two bronze.
Morocco's 10 gold medals were won by light flyweight Yasmine Mouttaki, bantamweight Widad Bertal, middleweight Noura Mesmaoui, flyweight Issam Bensayar, lightweight Zouhair Fadel, welterweight Abdelhaq Nadir, super heavyweight Younes Bouhdid, light heavyweight Hasna Larti, light middleweight Saida Lahmidi and world heavyweight champion Khadija Mardi.
Entering the second day of the finals with four gold medals to Morocco’s eight, the DRC boxers staged an impressive comeback, claiming five more gold medals. However, Senegal’s Karamba Kebe thwarted their bid for a 10th gold medal, putting in a stellar performance in the heavyweight category to beat 2022 African Championships bronze medallist Landry Matete of the DRC. The win marked Senegal’s first gold medal in 26 years, since Mamadou Sow’s lightweight gold at the 1998 African Championships in Algiers, a historic victory for Kebe, who resides in France.
DR Congo's nine gold medals were won by minimum weight Bénédicte Diyoka, welterweight Brigitte Mbabi, bantamweight Kolongo Bakora, light heavyweight Nathan Mbeli, flyweight Gisèle Nyembo, featherweight Ruth Yanfu, welterweight Merveille Mbalayi, middleweight David Tshama and light heavyweight Pita Kabeji who won her third consecutive gold medal at the African Championships, equalling Morocco's Khadija Mardi, as both won gold in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Several boxers improved on their past performances, including DR Congolese Gisele Nyembo, Brigitte Mbabi, David Tshama, Kenyan welterweight Boniface Mogunde, and Burundian Nestor Nduwarugira, whom Mogunde defeated in the final. Mogunde won his first gold medal after a bronze in 2022 and a failure in Yaoundé. This time, he refined his strategy, relying on Cuban boxing techniques to frustrate his opponent and avoid close exchanges, a style that ultimately neutralized Ruwarugira.
“I am very disappointed that I was not able to land the punches I wanted to. Mogunde kept his distance and moved away every time I tried to intervene,” said Nduwarugira, who became only the second Burundian boxer to reach the final of the African Championships, after Ornella Havyarimana in 2022.
“I stuck to my strategy to win gold for my country, and we became the best country in East Africa,” added a visibly satisfied Mogunde.
Nyembo Gisele of the DRC turned her silver medal from Yaounde into gold by beating Rabbab Cheddar of Morocco in the final. Brigitte Mbabi also won her first gold medal after winning silver in 2022 and bronze in Yaounde, while David Tshama reclaimed his middleweight title by beating Morocco’s Yassine El Ouarz on points. Cameroon’s Martial Wouang went from silver in Yaounde to light flyweight gold in Kinshasa.
South Africa's John Masamba Paul, Morocco's Abdelhaq Nadir and Namibia's Tryagain Ndevelo all celebrated their first gold medals at the African Championships. Masamba, who was boxing for the first time in his father's country, was emotional as he embraced his cousins at the Stade des Martyrs after his decisive victory over Morocco's Mohammed Alloua.
“Seeing my cousins in the arena was overwhelming. I couldn’t hold back my tears,” said Masamba, who had already been reunited with family members in Kinshasa, a meeting he found deeply inspiring.
“I met them for the second time in my life and the heat was incredible,” he added, reflecting on the significance of the reunion. Masamba dominated his last fight against Alloua, using body shots and head shots effectively, and later mentioned that Alloua employed unconventional tactics. “He headbutted me three times and even tried to twist my arm, but that’s boxing, and I found it really interesting.”
Nadir moved up from light welterweight to welterweight, winning his first gold medal in this tournament in addition to his gold at the 2019 African Games.
Namibian left-footer Ndevelo has been in fine form throughout the tournament, including a tactical victory over Zambia's All-Africa Games silver medallist Mwengo Mwale. It was Ndevelo's debut at the African Championships and a nice comeback after a defeat to Mwale at the 2022 Zone 4 Championships in Maputo.
“It’s a dream come true to win gold on my first try,” Ndevelo said, adding: “He wanted to draw me in close but I kept my distance to score clean points. This is my time to shine,” he said.
Ndevelo's gold, along with light heavyweight Gebhard Ipinge's silver and flyweight Tomas Elfas' bronze, helped Namibia finish seventh overall.
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Source IBA SPORT: https://www.iba.sport/news/morocco-retains-overall-title-at-afbc-african-boxing-championships-despite-strong-challenge-from-dr-congo/
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