Golola defeats Titus Tugume in kick-boxing rematch
Moses Golola of Uganda poses with his African Kick Boxing Confederation (AKO) belt. Golola beat his compatriot Titus Tugume on Sunday night. PHOTO|FILE
What you need to know:
Moses ‘Of Uganda’ Golola defeated Titus ‘Hard Rock’ Tugume through a points decision after a hard fought seven rounds action that had every jab, punch and fall well cheered by a lively crowd. At the end of the seven rounds, the three judges tallied 67-67, 66-62 and 66-67 in favour of Golola, amassing a total of 200 points to Tugume’s 196.
Kampala. It was a match fought on the lover’s night, dubbed as the ‘Revenge fight’ after 2014’s famous ten second fight when Golola landed a lucky punch to knock out Tugume.Every kick boxing enthusiast in the country and beyond the borders looked forward to the fight held in the wee hours of Monday morning at the Lugogo Indoor Arena.
Moses ‘Of Uganda’ Golola defeated Titus ‘Hard Rock’ Tugume through a points decision after a hard fought seven rounds action that had every jab, punch and fall well cheered by a lively crowd. At the end of the seven rounds, the three judges tallied 67-67, 66-62 and 66-67 in favour of Golola, amassing a total of 200 points to Tugume’s 196.
Like all kick boxing bouts held in Uganda, time management remains a big undoing.
The main fight that was supposed to kick off at 11pm was delayed almost two hours as under-cards curtain raised the night for the more than eager fans. By the time the main ring MC’s Daniel Irish Kanyerezi and Mr Mosh ushered in the two prized fighters, it was 1am. After the Buganda and Uganda anthems, the two fighters took to the ring under the keen eyes of the main referee from Kenya, Fazil Duku.
Golola had the first break of the ice with a well executed punch that floored the UPDF soldier to the canvas under deafening noise. As early as the opening two seconds of the second round, Tugume retaliated with a similar punch that sent Golola down.
From then on wards, there was constant tangling and hugging from the two boxers until a stoppage in the fourth round when the ring needed ‘maintenance’. Golola perfectly utilized the break with his comical jigs much to the delight of the crowd.
On resumption after close to an eight minute break, Golola once again sent the boxing cum kicking soldier down.
The fifth till the eight rounds saw Tugume fall down a combined nine times under either a push or punch from the motor-razed fighter. By the last round, the enthusiastic crowd listened attentively when MC Irish read the scoring from the judges round after round.
Tugume took round one 30-29, Golola won the second (20-26), Tugume claimed the third 30-28, Golola edged by a point in the fourth 29-28, Tugume was successful in the fifth 29-26, Golola clinched the second last round 28-27 before also winning the very last one, where Tugume fell down four times, 30-26.(Kawowo)
