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If the bloodthirsty, Ugandan dictator Idi Amin were still alive he would be smiling - in between bites of human flesh, that is. Ugandan heavyweight Peter Okhello is preparing to fight Oleg Maskaev for the WBC heavyweight title on December 10th in Moscow and Amin should get some of the credit because after all, he was the person that popularized boxing in Uganda.
The former dictator and British colonial army sergeant (and reported cannibal) was the Ugandan army heavyweight champion for nine years between 1951 and 1960. When asked whether or not he was a cannibal, Amin answered: "No, I don't like human flesh. I tried it once or twice but it's too salty for me." It’s fitting then that Amin’s fickle tastebuds would have sampled the cutthroat sport that is boxing - because no sport chews people up and spits them out quite like boxing can.
Amin was a ruthless tyrant who controlled the country of Uganda during the decade of the 1970’s. Although he was responsible for the massacre of 300,000 of his own citizens, Amin is credited with instituting an amateur boxing program within Uganda that produced fighters such as Cornelius Boza Edwards, Ayub Kalule and John "The Beast" Mugabi. Make no mistake though, Okhello is nowhere near as capable as those three former world champions.
Peter Okhello has received a "Rocky Balboa-like" chance of a lifetime to fight for what was once considered the greatest prize in all of sports – the heavyweight championship of the world. Okhello has been plucked from anonymity much like Rocky Balboa was when he was matched against Apollo Creed for the fictional version of the heavyweight championship. [details]
The former dictator and British colonial army sergeant (and reported cannibal) was the Ugandan army heavyweight champion for nine years between 1951 and 1960. When asked whether or not he was a cannibal, Amin answered: "No, I don't like human flesh. I tried it once or twice but it's too salty for me." It’s fitting then that Amin’s fickle tastebuds would have sampled the cutthroat sport that is boxing - because no sport chews people up and spits them out quite like boxing can.
Amin was a ruthless tyrant who controlled the country of Uganda during the decade of the 1970’s. Although he was responsible for the massacre of 300,000 of his own citizens, Amin is credited with instituting an amateur boxing program within Uganda that produced fighters such as Cornelius Boza Edwards, Ayub Kalule and John "The Beast" Mugabi. Make no mistake though, Okhello is nowhere near as capable as those three former world champions.
Peter Okhello has received a "Rocky Balboa-like" chance of a lifetime to fight for what was once considered the greatest prize in all of sports – the heavyweight championship of the world. Okhello has been plucked from anonymity much like Rocky Balboa was when he was matched against Apollo Creed for the fictional version of the heavyweight championship. [details]
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