The president of Rwanda Boxing Federation (RBF), Vicky Kalisa, has urged all pugilists to stay active while respecting lockdown rules in different clubs across the country. Speaking to Time Sport on Tuesday in Remera, Kalisa said that all pugilists, and trainers need to act responsibly during this period and not to break the law in the name of boxing. “The sport is affected just like other sports disciplines; we have lost friends and fans however we need to apply the safety measures of wearing masks, social distancing as well as remembering to wash our hands,” he explained. Since the outbreak of the pandemic in March last year, all activities related to the sport were postponed or cancelled to contain the coronavirus pandemic. The head of boxing in the country added, “Let us not risk to put the name of our noble sport of boxing in disgrace by working out in violation of the lockdown directives, let us train remotely at home” Kalisa explained that one of the biggest challenges faced by boxing is the lack of resources by his federation to help pugilists or clubs during the lockdown. “Some of our boxers in their respective clubs have lost their jobs; the sport in the country has not reached the professional level where clubs can pay salaries to boxers or coaches. RBF does not have sponsors, we try to facilitate the clubs during competitions to motivate everyone.” he said. “At the moment, we are waiting for the Ministry of Sports to give us an all clear when it is safe to train in clubs. So, for the time being health and safety of everyone is more important, all pugilists should follow the RBF online individual training programs issued to respective clubs. We need to maintain a positive attitude under the circumstances,” Kalisa said. Even before the outbreak of the pandemic, boxing had its sheer number of problems, the last time a competition was organized was in August 2019 at Amahoro indoor.
