*Undated
It seems the twilight is near as 'Hit Squad' captain and featherweight boxer, Nicholas Okoth, on Sunday December 2nd revealed he has set his mind to retire from the ring after the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
As he resumes training at the ASK grounds in Nairobi after the festive break, Okoth has vowed to step up preparations as he eyes one last vintage performance that would fire his career to unprecedented heights.
The 38-year-old Kenya Defence Forces officer who led Hit Squad's onslaught at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, said he already felt drained due to his advanced age and the games might mark the end of his glittering career spanning close to two decades now.
His most recent major global outing was at the men's AIBA World Boxing Championship in Serbia, between October 25th and November 6th last year.
“I've done my part for the country and I feel I should now retire from the ring. In fact, if there existed a good boxer who can readily fill my shoes, I could have already hung up the gloves a long time ago. I believe it's a high time I paved the way for the budding boxers,” said Okoth.
Okoth says he intends to transition into coaching upon retirement. He was among the 20 beneficiaries of the Aiba Star 1 certification course, which, Boxing Federation of Kenya (BFK) launched in December 2020 as part of its far-reaching plans to build capacity in the country.
Okoth says he'll use the knowledge he acquired in training to nurture budding boxers back at Undugu Amateur Boxing club in Mathare slums, where he grew up and cut his teeth in the sport.
Okoth said the course will come in even more handy once he retires from his job in the forces. "I am getting old and worn out. Soon I will be hanging my gloves and as such, I should start planning for my future," he said.
Okoth also believes he stands a better chance of landing a job as the next KDF boxing coach considering his impressive track record with the forces as a boxer and given the education he has now gained from the course.
Okoth secured a berth at the 2008 Olympics after winning the 2nd AIBA African 2008 Olympic Qualifying tournament. In Beijing, he lost his debut to Arturo Santos Reyes.
He qualified to represent Kenya at the 2020 Summer Olympics again after punching furiously on the bag at the African qualifiers in Dakar, Senegal where he bagged the gold.