Popular Tanzania boxer Karim ‘Mtu Kazi’ Mandonga can now stand up and flex his muscles with a title belt around his waist after he was crowned heavyweight champion on Saturday evening in Nairobi.

The 43 year old crowd favourite marked another win in Nairobi by defeating his Ugandan opponent Kenneth Lukyamuzi- by a judges’ split decision.

Lukyamuzi simply had no answer to a barrage of punches from Mandonga despite being spurred on by a small but noisy band of supporters at Moi International Sports Centre (MISC) indoor arena with the judges’ ruling 74-78, 77-75 and 77-75 in his favour.

The decision came after one judge had scored the fight even, with the other two judges scoring the eight rounds bout in favour of the Tanzanian to hand him the win.

Mandonga, who made his boxing debut on July 26 2015, was excited with the feat after the action that was fairly attended by fans at the Kasarani Gymnasium.

“I want to thank God, the people of Kenya, the Kenya Professional Boxing Commission, all Tanzanians and myself for this big victory,” Mandonga said immediately after his fight.

He added: “I promised that I’ll be back in Kenya and I am here, with another win.”

The last time Mandonga was in Nairobi was on January 14 – when he went on to beat Kenyan opponent Daniel Wanyonyi though a Technical Knock-out.

A bantamweight title fight between Kenya’s Nick Otieno and Tanzania’s Hassan Ndonga curtain raised the main fight.

All the bouts were aired live on local content channel, Maisha Magic East.

“MultiChoice Kenya is committed to enrich lives through content which educates and informs, as well as entertains especially at this time when Kenyans are facing huge economic pressures. Our forte in local content is unmatched and this is the first time we gave Kenyans a treat on live local boxing while positioning our athletes on-air,” said MultiChoice Kenya Managing Director Nancy Matimu.