Story by RICHARD MWANGI

Anthony Napunyi will be the main card in the Sparks Pro-Boxing Promotion debut when he faces Tanzania’s Antony Matheus in a super-bantamweight duel at the Wab Hotel in Buru Buru, Nairobi, on Saturday.

Napunyi went through the amateur ranks boxing for Prisons, like his father, the late Modesty Oduori Napunyi. Unlike his father, who represented the country as a bantam-weight for several years, the younger Napunyi turned professional after reaching intermediate level in amateur.

He represented Prisons ABA in the national league, which gives him the basics required to succeed in the paid ranks.

Napunyi will to meet Matheus in a six-round non-title super-bantam weight contest. He will use it as a build-up for his forthcoming defence fight for the Universal Boxing Council super-bantam weight belt against a South African opponent in Nairobi next month. He clinched the title when he beat Allan Kamote of Tanzania in Nairobi last year.

Napunyi has an impressive record (16-12-3-1 (6 kos) which gives him an edge over Matheus, who arrived in the country on Wednesday night and was three kilograms under-weight.

He said that he would make the weight, from super-flyweight to super-bantamweight by the time of weighing-in.

Matheus is currently the Pacific Asia Boxing Association super-flyweight champion. This will be his third fight against Kenyan boxers. He was knocked out by Nick ‘Kanyankole’ Otieno in round four of a scheduled eight rounds bouts and went full distance with Sande Otieno three years ago.

On the women’s fights the hard hitting Jane Kavulani of Kenya is set to meet Nantongo Malinde of Uganda in a four round featherweight non-title fight.

The two warmed up at Figure Eight Gymnasium yesterday along with the other boxers who will be in action on Sunday.

In another women’s bouts, Benedetta Kaloki will have her second feather-weight fight as a professional against Christine Auma in what is an all Kenyan affair.

Duncan ‘Sugar Ray’ Kuria, the technical manager of Sparks, said “we are all set for the D-Day and everything is going according to our plans so far.’

Other bouts; Lightweight: Ibrahim Odhiambo vs Stephen Nyakina ( 4 rds); Heavyweight: Adhiris Idris vs Obadia Mwangi (4 rds); George Owano vs Kennedy Muiruri (6 rds).

On the amateur scene the national boxing league took off in Nakuru on Friday with Prisons Amateur Boxing Club one point ahead of their arch-rivals Kenya Police ABA.

But non of the Olympic bound boxers, Suleiman Bilali (lightfly-weight) and Nick Okoth (feather-weight) both of Police and Bernard Ngumba (flyweight) and Aziz Abdul (lightheavy-weight) of Prisons will take part in the event.

Patrick ‘Mont’ Waweru, assistant coach on Friday said that they could not risk injuries now that they have a few days to go before leaving for Beijing.

Nick Abaka (welter-weight) of Armed Forces ABA, the fifth Olympic qualifier was eliminated from the Beijing bound squad after breaking his jaw in the East Africa Military Games in Kampala, Uganda, last month.

Courtesy of:http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=5&newsid=127632