Of course, the shocker came because the sea of hype had been showered on Tugume as a more gifted fighter technically than Golola, the latter being deemed as just a motor-mouth with no flair inside the ropes. Perhaps the shocker was also because Tugume was knocked unconscious within just a minute into the fight.  

 

But then, Tugume himself is not the most outstanding kick-boxer we have in Uganda. Fine, he is huge and all, has convincingly won bouts here against fighters like Malik Kalisa, but he is not the best. Come on, he is not even anywhere near Ronald Mugula as a kick-boxer. What kind of rock (as his moniker suggests) crumbles like that in a ring?

 

Against Golola, he had the advantage of being a better kicker than “The Hot Temper” whose strength lies in being the better puncher. So as soon as the bell rang, Tugume assailed Golola with a wild kick. In the process, he opened himself up and Golola pounced. And boy, oh boy, did the Hot Temper punch the living daylights out of the UPDF soldier.

 

Tugume’s brains blacked out on the night and he collapsed like a heap of potatoes in the ring, as the umpire counted up to 10 seconds before declaring the bout over. 

 

What we also forget is that prior to the fight, Golola took on a different approach to preparations. 

He never blabbered as much, even when he said he would punch Tugume until he forgets his army number.

 

He had learnt his lessons and took seriously to his training. We all remember those good old days when Golola would heap pressure on himself by updating the world how he was taking 10 buckets of porridge in Kabale preparing for fights.

 

This time, he never told us what he was eating or drinking in training. He simply gave us quotes we wanted to hear and that was it.

 

So when he told us that: “I am the only man who pockets while naked,” it was a tactical ploy that had everyone “die” in laughter, but it took pressure off him, simply because many just rubbished it as his usual pre-match bogus banter.

 

Tugume blabbered and even went ahead to do an “Undertaker” by posing with a coffin supposedly prepared to take Golola’s battered corpse to his “grave.” That move heaped pressure on him and made Golola the underdog in the fight.

 

Now, nothing motivates underdogs than having less pressure to meet expectations. That is why after the fight, many asked where Tugume’s casket was and it was nowhere.

 

The other bit is that Golola won because he was more motivated to redeem himself than Tugume was.  

 

Tugume had nothing to prove after winning his fights here and abroad. In fact, he is the one who clamoured for a fight against Golola, so that he proves to be a better fighter in the country. He got it. 

 

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Golola got lucky,” many were heard saying. Some of the people who turned up to watch the kick-boxing match had not entered when Golola knocked out Tugume, a reason I believe many argued that he bribed his UPDF opponent. 

 

“The hard rock in Tugume cannot be smashed that fast,” one of his fans was heard bellowing. Others went the extra mile to declare that Golola bewitched Tugume. It is easy to see why the seemingly frivolous claims can come up.

 

For starters, the organisers are money-makers. For them, it is not about giving the revellers a memorable and enjoyable fight. They must make a mint out of a well-hyped opportunity. 

 

In this case, a number of publicity stunts were staged, the most notable one was the coffin stunt. 

 

Can we rule out the possibility that they used Golola’s fame, and the fans that follow him everywhere? He undoubtedly has staunch fans that will follow him to the grave just so they can hear his funny catchphrases.

 

Even when he delivers on that arena, but fails to deliver in the ring, they will bear with his losses and, somehow, manage to convince themselves that he is a champion and it will be better next time. 

 

Golola’s fight is a power-oriented one with less skill in the whole equation. How can such an equation win a fight against an equally powerful opponent with more skills than he has?

 

This was portrayed in his recent matches with both the Hungarians, Zsamboki Mate and Andras Nagy. He was more powerful than they were, but he did not show resilience and skill; he seemed to have no game plan at all. 

 

His was to jump at the opponents and probably bite them because that is all the Hungarians would let him do.

 

They outclassed him, their kicks and punches easily maneuvering his guards. A lesson he should have learnt by now. 

 

Tugume, on the other hand, however skilful, does not have many fans and maybe the fame might do him a great climb on the social ladder, but that will not earn him the money he might have been promised.

 

To the doubting Thomases, the organisers took this all into account and played their cards well and possibly paid both kickboxers to get the desired result.  

 

There is a view that the organisers know that if Golola ever loses a fight again, more so to a Ugandan kick-boxer, that will be the end of kick-boxing in Uganda. Why would someone attend a kick-boxing fight however well-advertised, if Golola’s name was not mentioned? The organisers would lose business. 

 

Some even believe Uganda, with its thriving sports betting industry, could have become like some of those countries where match outcomes are predetermined, so someone can make money when the least-expected challenger emerges on top. But like I said earlier on, I am just exploring the possibilities. 

 

Other possibilities might linger in people’s minds, but one is more credible, the possibility that Golola simply got lucky.

 

He could have gotten lucky when he hit Tugume in the jaw because if a punch is timely and catches the opponent offguard, even the best boxers will plunge because in such moments, it is not about resilience or skill, but surprise. 

 

The body does not expect the effect and therefore has not put in place a defensive mechanism to decrease or control the effect of the punch. The impact of the punch might be very hefty for the body to handle in such a short time.

 

You are bound to lose consciousness and that is how you will feel the force of gravity pulling you down towards the loser’s place — the ground. That is what happened in Tugume’s fight. 

 

Golola lacks skill, but one thing is for sure, if you fall into his jabs, they will definitely give you a malfunction. If it is the skin, it will swell and deform. And if it is the jaw, well, it will break and that is what happened to Tugume.

 

He was caught pants down and a chance well exploited always yields results.