Kenya was the first African nation to produce an Olympics
boxing gold Medalist. However, for the London 2012 Games Kenya can only manage
to send one boxer, Benson Gacheru Njangiru. Njangiru was one of the 10 Kenyans that
represented the country at the African qualifiers tournament in Casablanca, Morocco
and returned home with a silver medal. The old boxing days that were much
revered appears to be no more but one Kenyan legend still remains in the
African Boxers’ Hall of Fame.
Robert Wangila was born in September 1967 in Nairobi and is
arguably the finest boxer Kenya has ever produced to date having being the only
Kenyan to win an Olympics Gold Medal. After turning to professional boxing in 1989,
he was able to compile a record of 22-5-0.
Wangila who started his boxing career with the Kenya
Breweries boxing Club was known in his Jericho neighborhood as ‘Roba’. In 1986,
while still 21 years-old he was considered the best welterweight boxer in
Kenya. During his Amateur ranks, he had compiled a record of 165 wins and 5
losses.
In 1987, he won a gold medal at the 4th All Africa
Games giving him an opening to the following Olympics in Seoul.
At the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, he won the Men’s welterweight
gold medal after delivering a TKO to France’s Laurent Boudouani.
After turning pro in 1989, he went to the USA to establish
his professional career with alias ‘Kidd’. There he started a record 12-0 until
Eric Hernandez finished the winning streak in his 13th fight on a
knockout in 1990.
He died in July 1994 after hours in coma arising from
injuries received in a fight with David Gonzales in Las Vegas.
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