Ali Juma (pictured), a mechanic with Kenya Police, becomes the first ever Kenyan boxer to turn professional in 1963 in England.
Inspired by a silver medal he won in the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth, Australia, in the featherweight division, the late Juma, who hailed from Nyanza in Kenya’s Western Region, decided to fight bare-chested, moving to London in 1963.
Making his debut on March 3, 1964, Juma, the relentless punching machine, severely punished Lancashire lad John Quirke that the referee stopped the super featherweight fight in the fourth round.
“I’m glad to have got past my first pro fight, I had no experience so I did not know what to expect,” said the former Pumwani Boxing Club product.
According to boxrec – the website documenting boxers’ fight records – Juma won two more fights and then lost seven in a row before chalking up his fourth victory and then lost four more fights. He last fought on October 5, 1966, losing via a KO, ending his yo-yo pro career with a record of four wins two on KOs and 11 losses.
After Juma, Philip Waruinge was the second Kenyan boxer to turn pro in 1973 in Japan followed by Dallas Mercenary Steve Muchoki in 1979 in Denmark with his younger Mike “Stone” Irungu becoming the fourth Kenyan boxer to join the pad ranks in Denmark. Modesty Napunyi Oduori and Isaiah Ikhoni were the fifth and sixth Kenyan boxers respectively to turn professional in 1980 in Tokyo, Japan.
Credit: Nenez Media Services
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