By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 12 January 2015:
Tripoli’s boxing scene got off to a promising start . . .[restrict]for 2015 with enthusiastic participation and an excellent turn-out for Libya’s first friendly tournament of the year.
Several hundred enthusiasts filled a small warehouse with a full-sized fighting ring, tucked away in a corner of Tripoli’s Sport’s City at the weekend, eagerly awaiting the first boxing tournament of the season.
Some of Tripoli’s young and aspiring boxers were given the chance to try their hand in the ring in the afternoon and then the fights for the more experienced boxers began. Parents, siblings and fellow club members cheered on the fighters, while coaches, and occasionally parents, yelled advice and encouragement from the edge of the ring.
It was a ‘friendly’ tournament and all participants fought with enthusiasm but Tripoli’s Ittihad club clearly had the edge. Most fighters from the club won their matches, including two of the last and most-anticipated fights of the evening – the medium-weight and the heavyweight.
Ittihad’s medium-weight fighter Sufian Al-Bassal described his fight as a challenging one, not least because his opponent was taller than him. “He went down three times but he kept getting back up – he was a tough guy,” he said. “But I was better.”
For heavyweight Osama Mohamed Maghboub, also from Itthad, the tournament – his first ever competitive boxing match – was a brilliant experience. “I feel 100 percent,” he said, sweat dripping off him. “I feel like a winner. I feel like a champ.”
Already a competitive kick-boxer, Maghboub joined Ittihad to improve his upper body skills and strengths. He took to boxing and, after just three months training, was able to beat his opponent, who had fought in ten previous competitions.
It was not only the fighters who felt victorious but also the coaches. Overflowing with pride, one of Ittihad’s coaches and former Champion of Africa Mahmoud Boshkewa said: “I’m very happy – I feel like I am flying.”
Although the premises was a little rough around the edges, this was offset by the professionalism of those involved, many of whom were former champion boxers before Qaddafi banned the sport in 1979.
Six Tripoli clubs and one from Khoms participated. Several other clubs from Misrata had been expected to participate but failed to materialise on the day.
The head of Tripoli’s Mahallah Hadba club Mohammed Al-Amin described boxing as a “newborn” sport in Libya. “Boxing was forbidden for decades so now, after the revolution, we are just taking our first small steps,” he said.
Libya now has around 26 active boxing clubs, and the manager of Libya’s Boxing Federation, Jobran Zogdani, believes the sport could one day become one of the most popular sports in the country. “Boxing could easily become as popular as football here in Libya,” he said, adding however, that some government funding would be needed to help realise that dream.
“We had some financial support initially but, for the last two years, we have not received anything,” Zogdani explained. “But still, we are trying our best to continue.” This first tournament of the season certainly showed the continued commitment of its fighters and coaches, despite limited funding and facilities.
