Aziz Ringo has eyes on gold at African Boxing Championships

Aziz Ringo has a simple plan for the 2026 Africa Elite Men’s and Women’s Boxing Championships: get into the ring, take on Africa’s best and come home with gold. Moving down a weight category to find smaller opponents? Not a chance. Ringo wants to be a big boy, and he intends to prove it with his fists.

The Ugandan heavyweight is back in the gym preparing for the continental showpiece, scheduled for October 15–28 at the Kasarani Indoor Arena in Nairobi, Kenya. With boxers from across Africa expected to compete, the challenge will be anything but a walk in the park. But if Ringo’s confidence is anything to go by, he is not travelling to Nairobi to admire the scenery.

“I want to be a big boy, so that I conquer them,” he said when asked whether he had considered changing weight categories after his experience at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

It is the kind of answer that leaves little room for confusion. While some fighters might look for a more comfortable path, Ringo would rather face the challenge head-on. In his view, if you want to overcome tough opponents, you have to fight and beat them.

That determination will be tested in Nairobi, where Uganda’s Bombers will face competition from across the continent. The tournament is an important stop on the continental boxing calendar and a platform for athletes preparing for future international qualifiers.

For Ringo, however, the mission is more personal: he wants to defend the gold he previously won at the African Zone 3 competition in Kasarani.

“Last time, I beat them in Kasarani,” he recalled, making it clear that his previous success has only strengthened his belief that he can do it again.

He is not short on ambition, either. Asked what Uganda should expect from him, the heavyweight did not offer a cautious prediction or hide behind the familiar promise to simply do his best.

“We expect a gold medal from Aziz Ringo, as you know, win, win, win,” he declared.

It is a bold promise, but one that comes with an understanding of what awaits him. A continental championship brings together fighters with different styles, strengths and ambitions. Winning gold will require more than confidence and a few powerful punches. Ringo will need to combine discipline, composure and the technical improvements he has been working on in training.

He says his preparation has focused on speed, accuracy and technique — three important ingredients for a heavyweight who wants to do more than rely on his size and strength. In a division where one clean punch can change a contest, the ability to find the target matters just as much as the power behind it.

Aziz Ringo (L) lands a heavy left punch to the face of James Baraka during a Uganda Boxing Champions League match at Lugogo Credit: John Batanudde

Ringo knows that staying in the heavyweight category means continuing to test himself against formidable opponents. Rather than treating that as a reason to reconsider his place, he sees it as the very challenge he needs to conquer.

And he has a message for the rest of the continent.

“These Africans, my fellow Africans, I’m going to hit them harder,” he said with the confidence of a man who has already started fighting his battles in his head.

His opponents may want to take note. Ringo is coming with ambition, a point to prove and a gold medal firmly on his mind. Of course, the talking will eventually have to stop, and the bell will have to ring. In boxing, confidence can get you to the ring, but performance is what gets your hand raised.

While Ringo is the headline act in this story, Uganda will not be relying on one heavyweight to carry the entire mission.

The country is preparing to send an 18-boxer team as part of a 28-member contingent of boxers, coaches, referees and officials. The men’s squad includes Kakande Bruno (50kg), Nsubuga Sam (55kg), Mulungi Khassim (60kg), Amoko Innocent (65kg), Matovu Ukasha (70kg), Ojok Alfred (75kg), Kasujja Richard (80kg), Kibirige Arafat (85kg), Tabule Emmanuel (90+kg), and Aziz Ringo (90kg), among others.

Bombers name 18 boxers for African Championship

Uganda’s women will also be represented, with Ringo noting that the team includes eight men and seven women in the group he discussed during the interview. The full contingent is expected to compete against a field featuring more than 15 confirmed African nations, including hosts Kenya, Egypt, Ghana, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Niger, Lesotho, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Libya, Somalia and Ethiopia.

With so many countries in the mix, the championship promises tough match-ups and little room for complacency. Every boxer will have to earn their place, round by round.

For the Bombers, the task is to turn preparation into results and make Uganda’s presence felt in Nairobi. For Ringo, it is an opportunity to show that his decision to remain in the heavyweight division is not stubbornness but a statement of intent.

He has already experienced the disappointment of feeling that he did not deliver what he had promised at the Commonwealth Games. Now, he is back in the gym, working on his craft and looking towards another major test.

The lesson appears straightforward: learn from the past, sharpen the tools and come back stronger.

The ring in Nairobi will provide the answers. Until then, Uganda’s heavyweight is sticking to his plan — stay big, get sharper and keep winning.

And if his opponents were hoping he might move down a weight category to make their lives easier, they may have to find another plan. Aziz Ringo is staying put.

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