Eric Armit's World View by Eric Armit Feb 6th 2008

In a recent column I remarked on the problems of getting accurate records and results from Africa.  To some extent medical standards there can also be a problem. I can think of two cases in the recent past where African fighters have been brought over here for title fights and failed the pre-fight medical. My understanding in both cases they had medical clearances from their home Boards and was it was the blood test which they failed. If this is so then that would be a real concern. If a fighter goes into the ring with below-par eyesight or an injury then he is only endangering himself, but if he has a contagious blood disorder then he puts a lot of other people at risk. The encouraging point is that the medical safety checks here worked, the downside is that those in his home country did not. It is not always the case as the pre-fight medical ended the career of Gabula Vabaza before his IBF title fight against Steve Molitor, a pity for Vabaza but good for Molitor. In some places the system works and in some places it does not. However, just as big a threat is posed by the hidden problems. For instance if a fighter is brought here with a view to getting him a licence to box in Britain then he will have to undergo the most stringent medical tests before the BBB of C will licence him. Those tests will be undertaken privately and if he fails those tests then the matter will end with no application for a licence, and in that case the results of the medical should remain confidential between the Doctor and his patient (I say should because the outcome often leaks out). There is then nothing to stop that fighter going home and continuing his career where the medical standards may be lower. I have heard of an unbeaten, world rated African boxer to whom this applies. One whose eyesight was rumoured to be dangerously poor when examined here but had no such problems at home. When a local Doctor repeated this opinion on his eyesight he was threatened with legal action - by the local Board! Now the ABU have taken some action and taken his ABU title away, but in the final analysis it is a problem for his own Board as his medical here was over two years ago. For me the worst example I have heard of is the Zambian Kennedy Kenyanta. Kennedy won a gold medal in the 2002 Commonwealth Games and announced his intention to turn professional. He came here to get a licence, but soon returned home saying to the local press that he was devastated and his boxing days were over. Normally no details of the medical would be made public, but Kenyanta himself revealed that he had been diagnosed as having a brain tumour. It was big news in Zambia for a while and then faded away, although Kenyanta was still occasionally quoted in the context of some local boxing. However last year he announced he intended to turn professional and sure enough on December 1 in Lusaka he halted Mpundu Mutale in three rounds. Brain tumour? No problem according to Kenyanta the gym where he was in England did not have the correct equipment to examine him and it was all a mistake! What a load of rubbish, these medicals are carried out by specialists of the highest calibre with the best possible equipment and he could be risking his life. Should we be worried? Generally, standards throughout Africa are high, but if I was a manager thinking of taking a fighter to Africa for a bout, how sure could I be that there is no risk unless I knew that the medical standards in that particular country would protect my fighter? Still on Africa you sometimes wonder how boxers make a living. Take Evans Mbamba. The 26-year-old super-flyweight retained his WBC International title with a tough points win over Unathi Gookoma in Gauteng on January 18. Mbamba seems to have talent but it has taken him over five years to accumulate his 15 wins and this was only his second fight in 14 months. If he is a full time boxer then he is a starving one. Another example is Tshifhiwa Munyai. The former undefeated Commonwealth bantamweight champion has made quite a name for himself over here but there is no rush for his services back home. In the end he has gone with a promoter who is new to the sport and as I write they are having trouble finding anyone to sit in the other corner for this first promotion. A guy with his talent, who can fight from bantamweight to featherweight, and is close to world class, should not be scraping around for opportunities. Again in the Southern hemisphere three Argentinian prospects had easy wins to pad their records. On January 18 in Rafaela Ulises David “Chloroformo” Lopez kayoed Juan Alaggio in two rounds. On the following night in Punta del Este Martin Antonio Coggi halted Juan Alamo in two rounds and on January 25 in Comodoro Rivadiva Jonathan Barros halted Victor Paz in two. Southpaw Lopez was making the second defence of his Argentinian light-middleweight title and is 19-1 with the loss being a disqualification. Coggi, 24 a light-welterweight and also a southpaw, made it 19 wins but with a loss and a draw. He is the son of the former WBA light-welterweight champion Juan Martin Coggi, but lacks his father's punch. Barros, also 24, retained his national featherweight title and collected the vacant WBO Latino crown as he moved to 20 wins and a draw. Quite a contrast with Paz who is 38 and has had 128 fights. I will stick with guys to watch for the rest of the column. On January 20 in Bruay la Buissiere lightweight Guillaume Salingue moved to 15 wins with a points victory over trial horse Wlad Borov. Salingue was French amateur champion in 2000 but was beaten by Andrew Murray in the 2003/4 Nations Tournament. One night later, in Paris, Cameroon-born Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam went to 12 wins by kayoing previously unbeaten Kamel Belhachemi in one round. This was the final of a super-middleweight tournament. N'Jikam was African Junior and Senior champion as an amateur an eliminated Andy Lee in the 2004 Olympics, so one to keep an eye on. Over in Masaya, Nicaragua, on January 25, bantamweight William Gonzalez kayoed Mexican import Arturo Valenzuela in one round. Gonzalez, yet another southpaw, has a 22-2 record with the losses coming against Ricardo Cordoba and Jhonny Gonzalez and has 19 wins by stoppage or kayo. I can remember the days when it was felt that all southpaws should be strangled at birth, but the tolerance levels have climbed since then! Every fighter seems to require a nickname these days, but some can be hard to live up to. How about “The Golden Child” and “Rocky Marciano”. Super-middleweight Daniel Jacobs has been loaded down with the first one. The 20 year old has just turned pro and in another January 25 show, this one in Cicero, Illinois, he kayoed Ever Perez in one round. That's two fights over in less then a total of 90 seconds, a good start but a long way to go. Brazilian Pedro Otas has the “Marciano” tag and he also registered a first round kayo putting away Sidney De Oliveira in Sao Paulo on January 26. A former national amateur champion at super-heavyweight he has 16 wins and 15 inside the distance but once he steps up in opposition there could be a rocky road ahead, and that is about as close as he will get to the real Rocky.

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