Okwiri disappointed after aborted bout in Uganda
Reading Time: 2min | Tue. 27.12.22. | 15:30
He was to face off with Uganda's Kassim Ouma
Kenyan Olympian Rayton Okwiri has expressed his disappointment with the shoddy manner in which they were handled by the Ugandan promoter Steve Sembuya on Monday.
Okwiri was set to face off in a non-title fight with Uganda's former International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior middleweight champion Kassim Ouma but the bout did not take place after he demanded to be paid his dues first.
Former world champion 🇺🇬 Kassim Ouma (29-18-1) [72.5kg/159.8lbs] & Kenya's 🇰🇪 Rayton Okwiri (7-1-1) [71.9kg/158.5lbs] successfully weigh in ahead of tomorrow's massive 10 round main event live in Kampala, Uganda 🇺🇬 pic.twitter.com/CnnyvAGnXG
— Tim Boxeo (@TimBoxeo) December 25, 2022
"I've never seen such a useless promoter in my life, on phone he sounds genuine but when l met him I sensed trouble, I'm so disappointed preparing for this fight for two months then it doesn't happen," Okwiri said as quoted by Nenez Media Services. "Imagine the promoter didn't even meet us as the airport. We paid for our way to the hotel. I'm so lucky I traveled with my sponsors otherwise we would have been stranded," he added.
The 10-round non-title fight was organized by the Ugandan promoter, who is the Chief Executive Officer of 12 Sports Rounds Promotions, and could have seen the winner take home over USD 10,000 as per reports by Ugandan media.
"During the weigh-in we agreed he'll pay us before the fight but he backtracked on his promise that's why the last five bouts didn't take place because the boxers refused to fight before being paid. We even paid 8 way to the venue and back to the hotel when it was raining heavily, and even now as we go to the airport my sponsors are paying, the promoter has disappeared, we even paid for our meals last night and the commission here has agreed to pay for the hotel. I hope the Kenyan promoters can take up the fight I take on Kassim Ouma in Nairobi," the Kenyan lamented.
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