25 Jul 2021

Botswana’s last hope for an Olympic boxing medal  Mohammed Rajab Otukile is exuding confidence ahead of his crunch opener at the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Games.

“When you are a fighter you are a fighter" the soft spoken boxer told BOPA in an interview ahead of tomorrow morning (0400am) bout.

Rajab will trade punches, in the men’s fly weight preliminary opener, with Columbian champion and Rio 2016 finalist Yuberjen Martinez.

The heavily built 29-year-old Columbian fell short of glory when he marginally lost to Uzbekistan’s Hasanboy Dusmatov and settled for a silver medal in Brazil. 

However Rajab is unfazed and remains upbeat ahead of the match, which is likely to draw much attention due to Martinez’s popularity and stance in the weight category.

Rajab is undoubtedly feeling positive about his chances of stopping his Columbian opponent in his tracks and is hopeful that the recent training camp in Russia,though not to his desired standards due to COVID-19 protocols, would come in handy.

His coach,  Lechedzani Luza speaking from their base in Japan, said they were well aware of their opponent and they knew what was cut for them. 

He said he had been urging his boxer to push hard and remain positive. Luza said they just wanted to keep their focus on the match against the experienced fighter.

Rajab is coming off an impressive continental campaign and would be buoyed to push further following the exit of Botswana female entrant Keamogetse Kenosi against a top notch Great Britain boxer on Saturday. ENDS