Richard Murunga

Richard (Hero) Murunga (22 December 1952 – 26 October 2018) was a boxer from Kenya.

Hero Murunga
Personal information
Full nameHero Murunga
Nickname(s)"Dick" and "Tiger"
Nationality Kenya
Born(1952-12-22)22 December 1952
Amagoro, Teso District
Died26 October 2018(2018-10-26) (aged 65)
Nairobi, Kenya
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight67 kg (148 lb)
Sport
SportBoxing
Weight classWelterweight

Amateur career

He started boxing in 1968, at the age of 19, encouraged by his father, Ernest Illuk, who was a Kenyan army officer. Two years later he joined the Kenyan Army.[1]

Murunga was a bronze medalist at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, losing to silver medalist Janos Kajdi.

He deserted the army in 1973 as Kenya boxing authorities did not allow him to join professional ranks. Subsequently, he went to Uganda and competed at the East and Central Africa Amateur Boxing Association (Fescaaba) championship representing Uganda under pseudonym Feisal Musante. He was later arrested, when he returned to Kenya.[1]

1972 Olympic record

Below are the results of Richard Murunga, a Kenyan welterweight boxer who competed at the 1972 Munich Olympics:

  • Round of 64: bye
  • Round of 32: defeated Alfons Stawski (Poland) by decision, 4-1
  • Round of 16: defeated Vartex Parsanian (Iran) by a third-round TKO
  • Quarterfinal: defeated Sergio Lozano (Mexico) by a first-round knockout
  • Semifinal: lost to Janos Kajdi (Hungary) by decision, 1-4 (was awarded bronze medal)

Pro career

Known as "Tiger", Murunga turned pro after his amateur career in 1973. He was promoted by Mogens Palle. Murunga was the first Kenyan professional boxer.[1]

He fought three fights in Europe, winning all three bouts and retiring late in 1974.

Personal life

Murunga had two wives, Mariam Wambui and Nawal Ahmed, and seven children. He converted to Islam when he married his second wife Nawal, and took a Muslim name, Khalifa. Formerly based in Denmark and Kuwait, as of 2003 he lived in Bombolulu in Mombasa.[1] He died on 26 October 2018, aged 65.[2]

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References
  1. Daily Nation, October 25, 2003: "Knocked out by injury". Archived from the original on February 24, 2004. Retrieved 2017-04-27.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  2. Omondi, Asher. "Kenya's first professional boxer Richard Murunga dies at 65".
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