Onyango retains national light welterweight crown

George Onyango weathered a sixth round knockdown to send Fred Nyakesha to the canvass thrice before retaining his national light welterweight title on Saturday at Charter Hall, Nairobi.

Onyango claimed a unanimous decision against a battling Nyakesha with judges Francis Olando, Martin Ndaria and Daniel Otieno giving him a 94-92, 97-92 and 96-92 victory.

But Onyango had to dig deep to redeem himself after a torrid first four rounds of the grudge match that saw Nyakesha take a considerable lead.

"I took time to settle and didn't use my superior reach well," said Onyango, who had beaten Nyakesha in a split decision to clinch the national title on September 8, 2018.

Nyakesha started the 10-round bout strongly, keeping the lanky Onyango close to his body with some good combinations from down upwards.

Nyakesha almost dispatched Onyango to the canvass in the second round with good hooks that forced referee Wycliffe Marende to step in and separate them.

Onyango tirelessly tried to use his jab to make a comeback, but Nyakesha tactfully kept on digging in as Marende cautioned Onyango from using bad tactics in the third and fourth rounds.

Onyango upped his game in the fifth round, but Nyekesha silenced him with good combinations that sent him to the canvass for the standing count in the sixth round.

The knockdown seemed to have awakened Onyango, who unleashed some left hook that dispatched Nyakesha to the ropes before hitting the canvass in the seventh round. Nyakesha would withstand the count to continue to wobble through the eighth round as Onyango dominated.

Onyango's solid punches saw Nyakesha visit the canvas again in the ninth and 10th rounds.

At one time, Onyango started to celebrate, going down on his knees thinking he had knocked out Nyakesha in the decisive round, but his opponent withstood the counts to finish the bout.

"I think I am ripe for the African title and I hope Kenya Professional Boxing Commission will help me secure that shot," said the 24-year-old Onyango, who now has seven wins,  two losses and a draw (7-2-1)

"I gave my best and it was my intention to finish it early, but I ran out of gas in the last rounds," said the 40-year-old Nyakesha.

In other bouts, former World Boxing Council international featherweight champion Nick "Kanyankole" Otieno beat Joshua Osotsi in a split decision (76-76, 78-74, 77-75) to win the eight-round featherweight contest.

Consolata Musanga forced referee Marende to stop the super featherweight bout two minutes into the first round to save Susan Anderson from further punishment.

Dan Oluoch beat Kennedy Opiyo in a unanimous decision to win the Super Welterweight contest, while Albert Kinario edged Calvin Otieno to win in super bantamweight.