Kenya continued to cause shockwaves in the World Boxing Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan after Benson Gicharu cruised to the quarter-final and come closer to the medal awards.
Benson Gicharu
Gicharu easily won the bantam weight bout 3-0 against Yoni Pacheco of Venezuela in a bout full of thrills.
However, luck lady did not smile on another Kenyan Nick Abaka who lost his pre-quarter-final match against fourth seed Zoltan Harcsa of Hungary 2-1 in a see-saw lightweight fight, which could have gone either way.
Another Kenyan Peter Warui was to face Inkyu Kim of Korea latter yesterday.
The last Kenyan to box in the second round will be today where Elly Ocholla face Simone Fiori of Italy.
Elsewhere, Timothy Bradley advanced his claim to be regarded as the world’s best welterweight by winning a split decision over Juan Manuel Marquez on yesterday.
Bradley thwarted Marquez’s attempt to win his fifth world title by coming on in the second half of the fight to win.
It was the third straight close decision win for Bradley, who was a hotly disputed winner over Manny Pacquiao two fights ago, and retained the WBO belt he won in that bout.
The pro-Marquez crowd booed loudly and Bradley egged them on afterward.
He won 116-112 on one card and 115-113 on another, while a third judge had Marquez winning 115-113. The Associated Press scored it 115-113 for Bradley.
By ERNEST NDUNDA, The Standard
