Post by Dee Williams on May 6, 2006 17:33:42 GMT -5
Conje returns to the ring
Nalukwago next in line for ‘hands of stone’ on June 3
By JAMES WAINDI
www.timesnews.co.ke/07may06/sports/sports4.html
LOCAL top female pugilist Conjestina Achieng is expected to return to the ring on June 3 against Florence Nalukwago of Uganda.
After losing in her bid to capture the World Boxing Council (WBC) world title last month where she lost by inferior points against USA’s Yvonne Reis, Conje who is famously known as ‘hands of stone’ among his peers, hopes to restore some measure of pride when she slugs it out with the Ugandan opponent in a 6-rounder non-title under-card for the ‘Total Redemption’ tournament set for the Nyayo National Stadium’s Basketball Gymnasium.
Promoter, Atomic Onyango yesterday confirmed having struck a deal with the star boxer. He also said that Conjestina was expected to leave for the T.E.A.M. Services Inc. stable in New Jersey, immediately after the fight. Achieng has been invited for a two-month training stint at the training camp.
“While still waiting for the final documentation from the T.E.A.M. secretariat, we thought it was wise to offer her a tune-up fight so that she can improve on her record after her defeat by Yvonne Reiss. The experience she grasped from the defeat has injected some experienced and what we are bound to see next month is a different Conjestina,” Atomic said.
Zimbabwean middleweight Monalisa Sibanda who is making a come back after stretching Conjestina in February, was previously lined-up against Nalukwago but will now face Irene Semakula also of Uganda in a six rounder. Her defeat at the hands of Reiss set her back quite a bit and now, almost a month later, Conjestina has the opportunity to resurrect her career.
Conjestina who is shaping up at Pumwani’s ‘Pal Pal’ and Figure 8 Gyms under her long time coach Julius Odhiambo says she is psyched for a comeback in a big way.
“Losing to Reiss is not the end of everything. We’ve seen serious boxers like Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis and Oscar De La Hoya humiliated but were able to remain at the top of the world. I still recall how Lewis was knocked-out by Hasim Rahman in South Africa and he was able to avenge the loss with a knock out six months later,” Conjestina said.
Conjestina and Kampala-based Nalukwago, 72kg, have never met before, but the Ugandan is already brimming with confidence from her Kampala base, according to her trainer Abbey Mugai.
Achieng boasts a record of eight wins including four knock out, two loses and three draws, while Nalukwago have only fought four times losing in all occasion.
Nalukwago next in line for ‘hands of stone’ on June 3
By JAMES WAINDI
www.timesnews.co.ke/07may06/sports/sports4.html
LOCAL top female pugilist Conjestina Achieng is expected to return to the ring on June 3 against Florence Nalukwago of Uganda.
After losing in her bid to capture the World Boxing Council (WBC) world title last month where she lost by inferior points against USA’s Yvonne Reis, Conje who is famously known as ‘hands of stone’ among his peers, hopes to restore some measure of pride when she slugs it out with the Ugandan opponent in a 6-rounder non-title under-card for the ‘Total Redemption’ tournament set for the Nyayo National Stadium’s Basketball Gymnasium.
Promoter, Atomic Onyango yesterday confirmed having struck a deal with the star boxer. He also said that Conjestina was expected to leave for the T.E.A.M. Services Inc. stable in New Jersey, immediately after the fight. Achieng has been invited for a two-month training stint at the training camp.
“While still waiting for the final documentation from the T.E.A.M. secretariat, we thought it was wise to offer her a tune-up fight so that she can improve on her record after her defeat by Yvonne Reiss. The experience she grasped from the defeat has injected some experienced and what we are bound to see next month is a different Conjestina,” Atomic said.
Zimbabwean middleweight Monalisa Sibanda who is making a come back after stretching Conjestina in February, was previously lined-up against Nalukwago but will now face Irene Semakula also of Uganda in a six rounder. Her defeat at the hands of Reiss set her back quite a bit and now, almost a month later, Conjestina has the opportunity to resurrect her career.
Conjestina who is shaping up at Pumwani’s ‘Pal Pal’ and Figure 8 Gyms under her long time coach Julius Odhiambo says she is psyched for a comeback in a big way.
“Losing to Reiss is not the end of everything. We’ve seen serious boxers like Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis and Oscar De La Hoya humiliated but were able to remain at the top of the world. I still recall how Lewis was knocked-out by Hasim Rahman in South Africa and he was able to avenge the loss with a knock out six months later,” Conjestina said.
Conjestina and Kampala-based Nalukwago, 72kg, have never met before, but the Ugandan is already brimming with confidence from her Kampala base, according to her trainer Abbey Mugai.
Achieng boasts a record of eight wins including four knock out, two loses and three draws, while Nalukwago have only fought four times losing in all occasion.
