Kyakonye's KO victory sets him on path for WBA and WBO titles

With his fifth-round knockout against Germany’s ‘Assassin’ Ali Kiydin, Uganda’s heavyweight Willy ‘The Ring Tiger’ Kyakonye has reached another milestone in pro boxing. 

Kyakonye, based in the Netherlands, knocked out Germany’s Kiydin to be in contention for both the World Boxing Association (WBA) and World Boxing Organisation (WBO) Intercontinental titles. The bout took place at the iconic Theatre Carre in Amsterdam during the annual Carre Dutch festival in the early hours of Tuesday, October 21.

What seemed to be Kyakonye’s biggest career test ended up being one of his easiest. Kiydin, nicknamed 'The Assassin' in Germany, failed to live up to his name this time.

Kyakonye, a former national boxing team member and 2015 Morocco Africa Boxing Championship bronze medallist, stopped him at 2 minutes and 20 seconds of the fifth round in what would have been an eight-round thriller.

This elimination title fight determined who would join the ranks of top continental elite boxers to challenge for the WBA and WBO Intercontinental titles. Kyakonye's triumph over Kiydin means he is now set to face the division’s top contenders.

“There is no bad win in boxing, but nothing is sweeter than winning by KO. I’m happy for this victory. I promised my fans a knockout and I delivered,” Kyakonye told Vision Sport. “I wanted this win by all means. Now I’m eligible to vie for both the WBA and WBO Intercontinental heavyweight belts and there’s still a lot more to come.”

Kyakonye’s knockout of Kiydin means he remains undefeated since his pro debut in 2017. The former Kololo Boxing Club and Lukanga BC’s hard puncher has now knocked out nine of his eleven opponents in the paid ranks, with his ring record now standing at 11-11-0. In Africa, his likely opponents include Nigeria’s WBA Africa heavyweight champion, Solomon Adebayor.

Kyakonye’s coach Vincent Stikkolorum and his manager Aart Boendermaker commended him for his bravery against Kiydin and are confident that very soon their fighter will have a mega world title shot.