Lukanga Boxing Club swept honours at the recent Intermediates tourney, setting the tone for the National Open championship, which punches off this weekend at Lugogo indoor arena.
Bankrolled by renowned boxing enthusiast Sam Lukanga, the Najjanankumbi-based club won the juniors and youth category titles during the week-long tournament which ended on Sunday.
In the juniors (14-16 years), Lukanga BC collected 18 points to beat army outfit UPDF (eight points) to the title. The club added the youth crown with an unassailable 19 points against Nakulabye-based Cobap and Kavuma BC’s five apiece.
Police BC clinched the Elite category (featuring boxers above 18 years of age) title. Cobap were runners-up with 12 points. The tournament attracted 168 pugilists from 31 clubs, which included three from Mbale, Kaliro and Bududa districts.
Uganda Boxing Federation (UBF) organizing secretary Fred Kavuma says the best-performing pugilists will be keenly followed in next week’s Open as the search for national team boxers begin.
UBF wants to build a new national team, The Bombers, ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2020 Olympic qualifiers. Last year, eight senior national team boxers vanished in Europe after failing to qualify for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.