Mohamed Hossam awarded African boxing gold after Aziz Abdul stripped of silver

Mohamed Hossam has been awarded the gold medal and first place in the 90kg category at the African Boxing Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, after Ugandan boxer Aziz Abdul was disqualified and stripped of his silver medal.

The Egyptian Boxing Federation said Abdul, the grandson of former Ugandan president Idi Amin, was removed from the competition for unsporting conduct and breaching international boxing rules.

The decision followed an incident during the final round of the 90kg bout between Abdul and Egypt’s Hossam.

In a statement, the Egyptian federation said: “The third and final round of the 90kg bout witnessed an unfortunate incident, as Ugandan boxer Aziz Abdul deliberately punched our Egyptian champion Mohamed Hossam in the back of the head after the bell had sounded to end the contest and while the Egyptian boxer was moving away from him.

“This prompted the judging committee and tournament supervisors to take an immediate and definitive decision to disqualify the Ugandan boxer, strip him of his medal and declare the deserving Egyptian boxer Mohamed Hossam the winner.”

The federation added that the incident was not the first time Abdul had been punished in international competition.

It said he had been disqualified “within just two weeks” of the latest incident, after being removed from the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, in July following a similar attack with his head on English boxer Damar Thomas.

The Egyptian Boxing Federation said Abdul’s record raised questions about his discipline and commitment to sporting ethics in the ring.

The federation’s board, led by Dr Magdy El-Lozy, said it remained committed to the Olympic and international rules governing the sport.

It also expressed its pride in the high technical and ethical standards displayed by Egypt’s boxers at continental and international events, saying their conduct reflected the country’s history and leadership in boxing.