Mikia Kalati
The Lesotho Amateurs Boxing Association (Laba) has called veteran coach, Mochochonono Mokhutlole, out of retirement to help local boxers prepare for the 2016 Olympics.
According to Laba president, Takatso Ramakhula, the decision to approach Mokhutlole was reached at after it became apparent his expertise was what the current crop of boxers need to improve.
“We sat down, as an executive, an analysed our performance at the recent Commonwealth Games held in Scotland. It was then decided that we need somebody of Ntate Mokhutlole’s experience and expertise, based on the changes that have been made regarding how boxers now score points during fights,” Ramakhula said.
“Ntate Mokhutlole is an expert in agility and strength, which is what is lacking in our boxers, hence our decision to ask him to come out of retirement.”
Ramakhula said Mokhotlole, who was the Lesotho boxing team’s coach at the 1984 and 1998 Olympic Games held in Los Angeles, the United States of America, and Seoul in Korea, respectively, as well as the 1991 All-Africa Games in Cairo, Egypt.
“Because of his experience, he is not only going to help our boxers but also the coaches as some of them are still new and need an experienced mentor,” Ramakhula said.
“We have a very promising group of boxers and I believe they will get better under the mentorship of Ntate Mokhutlole and the other coaches that we have.”
Mokhutlole, on his part, said he was very happy to be back and contribute to the sport he loves.
“It was not an easy decision to leave my personal commitments and come back to the sport, but I had to put my country ahead of everything else,” Mokhutlole said.
“It’s been only a week since I started working with the boxers, but they have looked very excited to have me around and I hope I can help them achieve their goals.
“I must say, it is still early days yet to give my own assessment on the boxers, as we are going to need time to get everything right.”
