Justin Juuko, the boxer called the Ugandan Destroyer, made a surprise comeback last night by beating Tanzania's Ibrahim Amadeus at the Patel Shamji Hall in Masaka town.
The 37-year-old Juuko returned from retirement determined to knock out Amadeus in the first rounds of the bout. Although some people were skeptical that this could happen, crowd support was largely in Juuko's favor and it went wild when he entered the ring.
//FX: Crowd cheering//
Juuko wasn't the hardest hitter in yesterday's bout, nor was he the faster of the two. Amadeus stood his ground and delivered blow after blow to Juuko. It seemed, in the first three rounds that Juuko had finally succumbed to his age and was destined for defeat.
However towards the end of the third round, Juuko made a comeback. He raised his ante, living up to his name, the Ugandan Destroyer, delivering punches of the kind that made him famous in his heyday in the late 1990s.
In the third minute of the 4th round, Ibrahim Amadeus gave up. He dropped his arms and the fight was called in Juuko's favor.
There were wild cheers celebrating Juuko's 45th win in his career. However some whispered in the crowd that Amadeus had deliberately thrown the game.
Speaking to his fans after the fight, Juuko said he was disappointed that Amadeus gave up so soon. He said he wanted to knock the Tanzanian out in the sixth or seventh round.
//Cue in: iI know Tanzanians #i
Cue out: i# knock him out.i//
The 27-year-old Ibrahim Amadeus, ranked third in Africa the lightweight category, said he had not thrown the game, as rumored. He said Juuko squeezed him into a corner too tight for him to remain on firm ground. He said he would train harder for future bouts.
Justin Juuko said he plans to fight in two more international engagements before fully retiring from boxing to become a serious politician. It isn't the first time he has announced his retirement. In 2006 his attempt at parliamentary politics failed with defeats at his home constituency in Masaka.
