Okwiri up against Congolese Emmany Kalambo this evening

Kenyan olympian Rayton Okwiri will take on Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) boxer Emmany Kalombo in Johannesburg tonight with the International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior middleweight title at stake.

Ahead of the fight, the former Africa Boxing Union (ABU) middleweight champion has maintained that they are not in the same level with Kalombo and has thus vowed to embarrass him on the ring.

"I don't have much to say, but what I know is that I'm taking him to the school of boxing. I'm watching his fights -- he has been fighting people who are not elites. I respect everyone who steps foot in the ring, but to be honest, Emmany Kalombo - we are not on the same level. He is going to see different things," Okwiri is quoted as saying on ESPN.

Okwiri is confident of defeating the Congolese boxer in the Walt Disney Company Africa-organised ESPN Africa Boxing 18 bout.

Their showdown is scheduled for 12 rounds, Kalombo walking into the bout on the back of 15 wins against one loss while six of Okwiri’s eight opponents did not last the full rounds. The Kenyan fighter drew once, in his second pro fight with no loss at all.

Kalombo’s last fight was with Chikondi Makawa from Malawi, who went down three times in round three, forcing the automatic stoppage of that fight in Soweto on April 24 while Okwiri’s last action was in October last year when he stopped John Serunjogi from Uganda in the eighth round of their 10-round non-title bout in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

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Before the main event on Thursday, there will be other fights to curtain raise.