TANZANIAN boxer Alex Michael cruised into the lightweight amateur boxing championships semi-final after beating visiting Kenyan boxer Fedrick Omondi during the quarter-final bout staged at the Tanganyika Packers venue in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
Michael beat Omondi by points in the highly-thrilling bout sanctioned by Boxing Federation of Tanzania (BFT) that took place in the evening at the open venue.
The bout was half way-dominated, each boxer exerting composure and pouncing on each other in an aggressive way enough to keep fans spellbound in support of either camp.
From the start of the opening round, Michael and Omondi confronted each other while making few off-target punches, intending to sail through the semi-finals asthe bout became unpredictable up to start of the second round.
As the second round got underway, Omondi slightly staggered, but not succumbing to defeat until when Michael started landing to him fast and powerful jabs enough to make him lose balance.
Judges awarded Michael points from up to the final round when chief of jury, Mussa Benjamin, announced him as a winner of the bout.
The victory has enabled Michael to extend his record in the championships with three semi-final qualifications, but has never won a medal.
Speaking after the bout Michael admitted that Omondi was among the toughest opponents he has ever met in his boxing career, but his ability to identify the opponent’s weaknesses granted him the victory.
“Omondi is one of the best boxers of my age-tier and he is good at maintaining composure, it was tough to knock him, but of course, I chanced after scrutinising his boxing style, I had to change mine to make it possible to win this crucial bout,’’ Michael said.
He said his coach had instructed him to maintain composure and focus on the opponent’s punching techniques, something which enabled him to beat Omondi in the tension-packed and thrilling bout.
He said he had to adhere to discipline as per his coach’s directives during training sessions. He also had to be cautious of referee during the bout since it is important to follow rules of the game because many boxers lose for overlooking them.
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