Gogoda suffers first-round TKO defeat in Kenya
Malawi heavyweight boxer Alick Gogoda on Saturday suffered a first-round technical knockout (TKO) at the hands of Kenyan heavyweight champion Moris Okola during an eight-round non-title bout at The Carnivore Gardens in Nairobi.
This means the No Pain, No Gain Boxing Promotions boxer, whose bout was on the undercard of Zarika Fatumma’s bantamweight rematch against Asha Ndengere, has soiled his record with a second loss in seven fights since he turned professional in 2015.
According to No Pain, No Gain chief executive officer Craig Rousseau, Gogoda, who has five TKO victories on his card, got caught early in the fight and could not continue after being floored in the first round.
“He started well as he was the first to attack. But he got caught with a hard punch and went down,” said Rousseau.
“He got up on the count of four but he was shaking his head in disappointment and the umpire stopped the fight, assuming the head-shaking was an indication that he did not want to continue although that was not the case. Nevertheless, a boxing lesson has been learned.”
His Kenyan opponent has upgraded his record to eight TKO wins in 12 bouts.
Malawi Professional Boxing Control Board (MPBCB) president Lonzoe Zimba expressed shock with Gogoda’s loss.
He, however, advised local professional boxers to be well prepared in all aspects of the game before getting into the ring.
“I did not expect a boxer of Gogoda’s calibre to suffer such a loss. It is my advice, therefore, that every boxer should not only concentrate on physical preparations, but also fully understand boxing rules before getting into a bout,” Zimba said. n
