Nigeria's Patricia Mbata (R) attacks South Africa's Mkateko (L), during their elite women's 70-75kg middle bout, at the African Boxing Championships in Yaounde in August 2023. Mbata, a British born boxer of Nigerian descent was invited by the Nigerian Boxing Federation to fight for the national team. DANIEL BELOUMOU OLOMO/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES.
Patricia Mbata, a 28 yr old Nigeria’s boxing star hopes to secure her ticket to Paris 2024 at the Africa Boxing Olympic Qualifiers running from 9-15 September at the Dakar Arena in Senegal.
She is a rising African female boxer who has only been punching competitively for four years and never even dreamt of boxing while in college.
“She still has a lot to learn about the sport, but her comfortable and rangy punches have helped her rise to the top of Europe’s biggest amateur boxing event and become one of Africa’s best,” said Evelyn Watta as reported on The Olympics.com page.
“I see myself as someone that is trying to do something different, and just trying to inspire a change. I feel as if I bring something different to the sport,” said Mbata.
Mbata discovered her love for boxing in her 20s and was relieved to be in a sport she ‘truly enjoys’, surrounded by people she greatly admired. “I see myself as someone that is trying to do something different, and just trying to inspire a change. I feel as if I bring something different to the sport,” she says in an interview with Olympics.com from London, as she intensifies her training for only her second-ever tournament as a Nigerian boxer.
“The African continental qualifiers for Paris 2024 will take place from 9-15 September with 18 Olympic spots up for grabs. From Wednesday, the competition will be streamed live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics app for mobile devices,” added Evelyne Watta.
Mbata, a British-born boxer of Nigerian descent, drew a parallel between her motivation and that of the Olympic gold medallist Anthony Joshua from whom she gets her inspiration.
“We started off at the same club. And it’s just very inspiring because, you’ve got someone that started at the same like pretty much any other boxer, but he’s just excelled, his career throughout amateurs and the pro game. And you can kind of see a path as to where your journey could be,” she added.
Edited by Joseph Hammond and Newsdesk Manager
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