Kenya's Elizabeth Andiego (in red) takes on Joellie Mwika of DRC in a past match.
After almost two decades in the amateur ranks, history-making Kenyan female boxer Elizabeth Andiego has finally turned professional.
The 39-year-old captain of the national boxing team, Hit Squad, will enter the professional ring tomorrow night at the “Nightmare in Nairobi II” promotion by Kalakoda at Masshouse, where she will take on Christina Raura from Tanzania in a non-title super middleweight four-round bout.
Having begun her amateur boxing career in 2007, Andiego is widely regarded as one of East Africa’s most accomplished amateur boxers. Notably, she was the first female boxer from the region to compete in the Olympics, making her debut at the 2012 London Summer Games in the middleweight category. There, she lost to Marina Volnova from Kazakhstan in the first round.
Volnova reached the semi-finals, where she lost to Claressa Shields of the United States, who went on to win gold and then defend her title at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
“They say God’s timing is always perfect, and this feels like the right time for me to try my hand at the professional level,” said Andiego, the 2022 and 2023 Africa middleweight silver medallist.
“I have had challenges securing opponents locally and even in Africa at the amateur level,” said Andiego, the 2024 Africa heavyweight silver medallist, detailing why she has decided to turn professional.
“I stayed for a long time without boxing at the amateur level due to a lack of opponents.
Team Kenya captain, light-heavyweight Elizabeth Andiego (centre), with other flagbearers during the opening ceremony of the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships in Nis, Serbia, on March 8, 2025.
Now, I want to see what the future holds for me in the professional ring,” explained Andiego, who dreams of winning a world title in the near future.
Referring to the saying that fine wine improves with age, Andiego told his fans that he still has what it takes to succeed in the professional ranks and promised them a good debut fight.
“I am happy that the rules have been relaxed to allow me to compete at amateur or professional level, provided the local amateur and professional bodies are informed in advance,” said Andiego, who switched to boxing in 2007 from taekwondo under the legendary Patrick ‘Mont’ Waweru.
Andiego’s bout will be an undercard for two East Africa Boxing Commission (EABC) title fights featuring Kenyan boxers. The weigh-in will take place at 10am at Masshouse today.
In other fights, Kenya’s Joshua Wasike,33, will take on the experienced Jacob Maganga from Uganda, while Kenya’s heavyweight champion, Morris ‘Hercules’ Okola, will compete against Hudson Muhumuza (9-6-1) for the regional belts.
“Training is going well, and I can’t wait to step into the ring again,” said Andiego, who warned Raura to prepare for an exciting bout.
“I have never lost to a Tanzanian boxer at amateur level, and it won’t happen in the professional ring,” he said.
Andiego overcame a horrific road accident in April 2015 in Nairobi, which left her with a fractured left leg and a cracked skull, to return to boxing training in 2018 and qualify for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in Australia.
Kenya’s bantamweight boxer Amina Martha takes on Russia’s Karina Tazabekova at the 14th IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Nis, Serbia, on Tuesday. The Russian won on points.
“The accident taught me a lot... to always go for what you want, no matter what. I love boxing dearly, so it was either rise again or fall,” said Andiego, explaining that her determination and trust in God had brought her this far.
“Many coaches had given up on me, but deep down I knew I had unfinished business.”
Andiego secured a silver medal at the 2022 Africa Boxing Championships in Maputo, Mozambique, losing to Morocco’s Khadija El Mardi on points.
She lost to El Mardi again in the final, settling for another silver at the 2023 Africa Boxing Championships in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
In 2024, Andiego claimed gold at the inaugural Mandela African Boxing Cup in Durban, South Africa, defeating Mozambique’s Rady Gramane in the final.
She then claimed a split decision victory over Morocco’s Hasna Larti in the light heavyweight final at the 2024 African Boxing Championships in Marrakech, Morocco.
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