A day after announcing his retirement from boxing, Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) pugilist Nick “Commander” Okoth has declared that he is open for a job as a tactician in the disciplined forces team in his quest to churn out great talents of his genre

 Okoth, who quit amateur boxing at the age of 39, said he cannot thank KDF enough for its contribution to his breakthrough in the game and singled out Col Paul Njuguna and Lt Col. Paul Bundi Mung’ori as some of the officers who helped him shape up his career.

 While Njuguna is in charge of Public Affairs at the KDF, Mung’ori is an accomplished military professional and is the current Chairman of the Defence Forces Amateur Boxing Association (DEFABA).

Mung’ori has also served as the Secretary General of the Boxing Association of Kenya (BAK) and a member of AIBA.

My mentors 

“I want to take this earliest opportunity after retiring from boxing to thank these two officers. They were my mentors while serving the KDF team and I probably wouldn’t have succeeded in boxing without their indispensable advice. May God bless them abundantly,” said Okoth.

A father of three, Okoth said boxing talent in KDF is discernible and that he would wish to make the most out of the inherent aptitude moving forward.

“KDF has employed youth, most of whom say that they wish to emulate me. Why not help them hone their skills while I’m still strong?” posed Okoth who was a water vendor in Mathare before venturing into the sport.

Apparently like father-like son, Okoth’s progeny, 18-year-old Kevin Owen is an avid football player while two others including Delhi Ouko and Lisa Jane have shown glimpses of falling in love with boxing.

“All these kids are proud of my achievements and I cannot stop them from pursuing their sports career dreams. But of course, it would be advisable for them to try to balance the same with academics,” said Okoth.

But what exactly were Okoth’s highlights in the prime of his career and which fight does still recall?

“I still have vivid memories of 2006 during the World Military Games in India when I believed I gave my all only to lose to a Chinese opponent in the quarter-final,” said Okoth.

Two years later, Okoth would feature in the President’s Cup in Taipei with the national team (Hit Squad) and win bronze.

Other members of the team then were former All Africa Games champion Suleiman Bilali and Bernard Ngumba.

The biggest success for Okoth would then be in the 2008 Olympics qualifier in Windhoek, Namibia where he clinched gold in the featherweight division as his compatriots in Nick Abaka and Aziz Ali settled for silver medals in the welterweight and middleweight respectively.