Mubiru tastes sour loss to Murungi

Action between Kassim Murungi (red) against Derrick Mubiru during the main bout of Week 10 of the Uganda Boxing Champions League | Photo Credit: UBF Media

BOXING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Mubiru tastes sour loss to Murungi

Shafic Kiyaga • 14:21 - 10.09.2023

Even the presence of Uganda’s A-list celebrities like stylist Abryanz Collection, artiste Grenade Officia in the company of Uganda Bocing Federation president Moses Muhangi could not steal the shine away from the bout.

Club Obligato was alive with boxing fever as the Uganda Boxing Champions League's week 10 main event took centre stage.

Fast-rising star Khasim Murungi faced off against experienced fighter Derrick Mubiru in a highly controversial fight that had fans on the edge of their seats.

Click here to vote for the Sports Influencer of the Year 

In one corner, we had the Senior four student from City High School, Khasim Murungi, who had recently made waves by defeating the 2022 Africa bronze medalist Jonah Kyobe in week 8.

Action between Kassim Murungi (red) against Derrick Mubiru during the main bout of Week 10 of the Uganda Boxing Champions League | Photo Credit: UBF Media

In the other, the experienced Derrick Mubiru, who was expected to put up a strong performance.

The fight began with Mubiru showing promise in Round one, but as the rounds progressed, he seemed to struggle with his movements in the ring.

Murungi, on the other hand, made a remarkable comeback in the 5th round, unleashing a flurry of rear counters, jabs, and straights. leaving the judges with a tough decision to make.

After the fight, the crowd erupted in cheers for Mubiru, who was stationed in the blue corner. However, to his dismay, the judges awarded the victory to Murungi in the red corner.

An unhappy Mubiru expressed his dissatisfaction, grabbing the NBS Sport microphone and stating, "Dear Judges, we put in hard work to achieve this."

Derrick Mubiru protests to the judges after they awarded the fight to his opponent Kassim Murungi | Photo Credit: UBF Media

His disappointment was palpable, but he was eventually led out of the ring by his good friend Matovu Ukasha.

The calm and composed Murungi, who is making a name for himself in the Elite Featherweight category, secured the win with a mysterious 4:3 score by seven judges.

This decision was a result of two additional evaluators being brought in, similar to what happened during the Africa Elite boxing championship in Cameroon.

Apart from the headline bout, the evening featured several other exciting fights, including three women's matchups.

Nadia Najemba dominated seasoned boxer Jalia Nali by a 5-0 score. Esther Namirimu of Kyengera outshone Nancy Kwiocwiny of Katabi in the Light Weight Women's category, also winning 5-0.

Scovia Muzira from Lukanga triumphed over Sharifah Nanyonjo of Zebra in Light Middle Women, winning 5-0.

In the men's division, Ochan Samuel of KCCA triumphed over Trevor Mudenya of East Coast in the Bantam Weight category with a unanimous 5-0 decision.

Sadat Kilwana of Zebra secured a victory against Mustafa Sempijja of Katwe in Round 4, with the referee stopping the contest due to Sempijja's outclassing in the Light Heavy Weight category.

The Junior Pin Weight category saw Ali Nsubuga declared the winner in Round 2 after the referee stopped the contest when he outclassed Twaubu Kayanja.

Brian Nkurunziza from Kololo defeated Hakim Lubega of Zebra 5-0 in the Bantam Weight Youth category.

Lastly, Bernard Ochieng of Sparks had a close fight against Ashraf Galabuzi in the Light Bantam Juniors category, ending with a 3-2 scoreline.

The Uganda Boxing Champions League will return for week 11 on Saturday, September 23, 2023.

Click here to vote for the Sports Influencer of the Year