After a month of intense preparations, the clock is now ticking down for the much-anticipated “Beyond Borders” fight between Uganda’s Joseph “Fabulous” Joey Vegas Lubega and Tanzanian Karama “After Bell” Nyilawila.
The fight which is slated for this Saturday, August 25 will be hosted at Kati Kati, Lugogo. The two fighters will do battle in pursuit of the light heavyweight championship and the winner will be determined after the maximum of 12 rounds.
Our own 36-year-old Lubega is a 2002 Commonwealth Games silver medalist who also competed at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Before launching his career overseas in 2012 by beating Trinidad and Tobago’s Kirt Sinnette in front of his home crowd, Lubega had previously won the British Masters Super Middleweight title.
Lubega’s triumph over Trinidadian Sinnette earned him a World Boxing Council International light heavyweight champion. His Tanzanian opponent Nyailawila is a 34-year-old southpaw who is known for his rapid jabs hence the name ‘After Bell’.
In his homeland, Nyailawila is referred to as ‘Tanzania’s Evander’ in reference to the former American professional boxer, Evander Holyfield, who reigned as the undisputed champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions.
When Matooke Republic contacted Lubega to assess how ready he is for Saturday’s fight, he sounded confident he would be writing another glorious chapter of history to his name.
“I have done all my preparations right and this is a must win fight for me and thousands of my fans who will come through to support. I promise to put this Tanzanian down and all my fans should be confident that we are not letting this championship title go away,” Lubega vowed.
Besides the main event, fans will be treated to a couple of undercard fights including a ladies bout that will pit Hawa Daku against Lukiya Nasiriti.
The professional category will see Nicolas Buule battle Hudson Muhumuza, while Muhammed Sebyala is set to lock horns with Tony Onyango. In the open category, Stanley Mugerwa faces David Ochan, Muzamilu Kotoma takes on Peter Brinton Luggya, Yusuf Babu faces George Owino while Musa Shadir entertains David Semujju.
Ordinary tickets cost Shs20,000, VIP tickets go for Shs50,000 and VVIP tickets are at Shs250,000.
THE BIG FIGHT The bout, organised by A&B Promotions, will headline the second edition of the Survival Series under the theme ‘Beyond Borders’ as fighters from Kenya and Tanzania make their bow, which is the new addition after last year’s inaugural event where only local boxers featured. The event is held under the auspices of under the Universal Boxing Organization.