Undefeated Nigerian Welterweight prospect Oyewale Omotoso arrived in Freddie Roach's Wild Card Gym in Hollywood after a five year stint in Australia where he compiled an impressive 18-0 record and quickly got signed up by Top Rank. Omotoso joins fellow US-based countryman Lateef Kayode under the tutelage of Manny Pacquiao's famed trainer. Cruiserweight contender Kayode seeks to turn his IBF number one ranking into a world title shot after a final eliminator in October.
Meanwhile, back home in Lagos, top local Light Heavyweight Isaac Ekpo looks to get his career back on track with the help of his state government. The National champ is seeking sponsorship for an ambitious series of fights that include and African title and an Inter-Continental championship.
Kenyan Super Bantamweight Fatuma Zarika ended up on the short end of her Global Boxing Council world title attempt in Germany on Saturday against Elina Tissen dropping a unanimous ten round decision for the vacant belt. Tissen, already the owner of GBU, GBC and WIBF Featherweight titles, improves to 13-2 while ex-WIBF champ Zarika loses only for the fifth time in twenty-eight outings.
In other Kenyan action, Lightweight Samuel Kamau gets another crack at the WBC Youth Intercontinental title on Saturday, this time against Russian Welterweight champ David Avanesyan. The East African's last trip out of town ended in a disastrous one round destruction at the hands of Ghana's Emmanuel Tagoe for the WBO African Super Featherweight title. Kamau will be hard pressed to collect his thirteenth win out of eighteen fights with such a huge jump up in weight.
Countryman Douglas Otieno guns for the vacant North American Boxing Association Light Heavyweight belt in Las Vegas this Firday against undefeated, US-based Russian Sergey Kovalev. If all goes according to script, Otieno should collect his seventh loss in thirty fights following the pattern of losing each of the five times he has traveled abroad. An undercard matchup features Swiss-born Gambian Light Heavyweight prospect Badou Jack attempting to stay unbeaten in eight fights against very tough journeyman Timothy Hall Jr. Although a possessor of an uninspiring 6-11 record, a closer look reveals a rash of split decision losses to very decent opposition suggesting that this will be no walkover for the former Gambian amateur international.
Tanzanian vet Joseph Marwa, 24-17-1, takes on a tuneup eight rounder tonight in Russia, against locally based Albanian Bedarin Toma in anticipation of an October shot at the newly created IBF East/West European Cruiserweight title. Marwa should not have any issues with the hand-picked opponent who has only four fights to his credit.
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