Joliet’s JoJo Awinongya wins Brandenburg Cup title

Joliet native and amateur boxing phenom JoJo Awinongya did something he hasn’t done in a while last week in Germany.

Awinongya was part of a USA Boxing contingent sent to the Brandenburg Cup in Frankfort, Germany. Awinongya fought as part of the Youth division for USA Boxing for the last time, and he went 4-0 to win the championship at 80 kg (176 pounds). He was one of seven Team USA boxers to bring home a gold medal.

What was unusual for Awinongya in the tournament was that he actually had four fights. In the recent past, not many American fighters would enter a tournament in Awinongya’s weight class, as they felt there was not a very good chance for them to win.

In the international competition, however, the fighters were there, and he started Wednesday with a 5-0 win over Vincent Solberg of Norway. The next day, he beat Ahmed Nada of Germany by abandonment [corner threw in the towel] in the first round. On Friday, Awinongya defeated Fabian Urbanski of Poland 5-0 in the semifinals before beating Australia’s Khaled Bassal by abandonment in the third round of the title match Saturday for the gold medal.

“It was good for me to get this many fights in a short time,” Awinongya said. “All of the opponents were good fighters. The fighter from Poland was a former world champion, got second in the world once and was a European champion, so that was my biggest test.”

It was a test that Awinongya nearly didn’t get to take.

Early in the competition, the USA Boxing team left its hotel at 6:45 a.m. and did not return to the hotel until after 9 p.m. Awinongya wanted to get some rest before his fight, so his father and manager, Joseph Awinongya, was able to find a bed for him.

Turns out, it was almost too good of a find.

“It was a long day at the arena,” JoJo Awinongya said. “We were sleeping on the floor when we could because it wasn’t in our best interest to go back to the hotel and then come back. So, my dad made friends with someone at a concession stand, and they had a bed that I could use.

“Before my third fight, I went to the bed and tried to take quick, 5-minute nap. I took it and woke up, and it wasn’t time to get ready for the fight yet, so I took another 5-minute nap. I woke up from that and went back to sleep.

“It was getting closer to the time for my fight, and no one could find me. My dad looked over almost every inch of the stadium, but he couldn’t find me. I was lucky and just woke up on my own at about 2:40 p.m., and my fight was at 3:15. I had enough time to splash some water on my face, drink a Sprite and get ready for my fight. The fight before mine was already in the third (and final) round. I really lucked out that my body woke up on its own.”

Awinongya recovered and beat his toughest opponent by a unanimous decision. He has returned to the United States and is now preparing for an international tournament in Canada starting Sept. 25, where he will move up from the Youth division to the Elite.

“It felt good to be in an international competition,” Awinongya said about his time in Germany. “It was a good experience, and I had to knock some of the ring rust off. It’s going to be a challenge moving up to Elite. I am going to start at the bottom and have to work my way up.

“I am looking forward to that because it’s another step toward my ultimate goal, which is to box in the Olympics.”

While he trains for future competitions, Awinongya will also visit the juvenile detention center in Joliet to talk to the kids there and try to inspire them to better things when they are released.