Boxing: African Continental Olympic qualifying event |03 March 2016

Allisop, Agnes, Jean to leave for Yaoundé next week

Seychelles will be represented by three boxers at next week’sAfrican Continental Olympic qualifying event scheduled to take place in Yaoundé, Cameroon from March 9-20.

Super heavyweight Keddy Agnes (+91kg), lightweight Andrique Allisop (60kg) and middleweight Jovette Jean (75kg) will leave the country on Tuesday March 8 and are expected to arrive in Yaounde on Wednesday March 9, in time for the start of the qualifiers.

A total of 30 boxers – three in each of the 10 weight categories – will book their tickets to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the end of the African Continental Olympic qualifying event in Yaoundé.

The three boxers in each category who will make it to Rio are the winners and runners-up along with the winners of the bouts involving the losing semifinalists.

The 10 weight categories are light flyweight (49kg), flyweight (52kg), bantamweight (56kg), lightweight (60kg), light welterweight (64kg), welterweight (69kg), middleweight (75kg), light heavyweight (81kg), heavyweight (91kg) and super heavyweight (+91kg).

Three female boxers for Africa in the flyweight (51kg), lightweight (60kg) and middleweight (75) categories will also qualify for Rio.

There will be a total of 286 boxers fighting for gold and glory in the men’s and women’s events from August 6-21, 2016 at the second pavillon of Riocentro, Rio at this year’s Olympic Games.

According to latest development, 272 African boxers including professionals will be competing in Yaoundé for a spot in Rio, making it a very tough competition, especially for amateurs like our own.

A fourth Seychellois boxer — light heavyweight Keven Kilindo (81kg) — was expected to travel with the team but will now stay behind as he has not been able to make the weight.

Recipients of the Rio scholarships, super heavyweight Agnes and lightweight Allisop followed a 10-day training camp in Sofia, Bulgaria last month.

Accompanying the three boxers who will be seeking Rio Olympic Games qualifications in the Cameroonian capital from March 9-20 are Seychelles Boxing Federation chairman Hervey Anthony, and coaches Gerry Legras and Rival Payet.

Of the three boxers, only Allisop has ever qualified for the Olympics and that was four years ago in England.

Allisop qualified for the London Olympics after edging out Kenyan Denis Okoth in the quarterfinals of the African Olympic qualification tournament, in Casablanca, Morocco.

He narrowly won the 60kg category bout 19-18 against Okoth after winning 11-6 against Senegalese Matar Sambou in his first fight. In the semifinal, he lost 8-16 to Tunisian Ahmed Mejri.

At the Olympics in 2012, Allisop lost his first bout to the more experienced Jai Bhagwan of India on an 8-18 verdict in the round of 32 at the ExCeL South arena in London.

G. G.