'God's timing is best' - fast rising boxer George Onyango knocking on greatness
Reading Time: 4min | Thu. 26.02.26. | 21:32
The 29-year-old will seek to add to his record on Friday night when he takes part in his second fight under a new promotion
For Williamson 'King' George Onyango, God's timing is the best.
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A trip down memory lane, perhaps, emphasises the point for the lanky pro boxer, who currently stands as Kenya's leading super welterweight.
"I remember back when I was a kid, probably nine, when I fell in love with boxing," Onyango, now an imposing 29-year-old, says, moments before one of the biggest fights of his career.
"I am a kid who loves challenges, and so whenever a time came for me to put someone in his box, I took it."
Then, the threat to his personal pride came in the form of a younger kid by the name Charlton Otieno, who, as per Onyango, believed in his own hype, maybe a tad too much.
Deservedly so, if you are a son of arguably the best Kenyan female boxer who ever lived.
"Charlton is Conjestina Achieng's son, and just had this boxing flamboyance about him that challenged me," Onyango says, reminiscing about his dust-ups with his peers in an open-air gym in Umoja.
"Conjestina once found us training and was so impressed with our talent that she offered to pay our gym sessions," a smiling Onyango adds.
That episode, which saw a local heroine give a nod to a little-known prospect, is a big part of who Onyango currently is.
On Friday, 27 February, the man who describes himself as a "counter puncher" dives into the deep end in search of his 12th win against Tanzania's Ernest Kapinga, a bout that serves as an undercard in Kalakoda Promotions' "Nightmare in Nairobi II" at Masshouse, Ngong Road.
Less than a year to his latest fight, not even Onyango would have expected things to change so quickly.
Thanks to his fear of outrightly mentioning to his parents that he wanted to take up boxing, it was only after Onyango's high school education at Shiners Boys in Nakuru that he made his goals crystal clear.
"It was never in doubt that I would be a boxer," Onyango says of his decision to commit to what is now his daily job, having forfeited a fledgling career in football.
On that, he says, "Football was just not my thing. I am a man of God, and it was clear that I always had this burning desire to commit to something I loved as a kid."
His calling took him to trying out as an amateur at Umoja Boxing Club, before a major breakthrough came his way in 2015.
"I had not been amateur for long when an offer to join professional boxing came from one of my coaches (Julius Odhiambo)," Onyango says.
"I took it, and though challenging at times, I can still say that I am on the right track."
On the challenges, a "self-inflicted" technical knock-out defeat to Germany's Rico Mueller still stings, but bigger was the battle to have a clear path to his mountain top.
"Professional boxing in Kenya, I would say, needs individuals with ideas of taking boxers to the next level. That is something that unfortunately, has often been lost by most of our sponsors," Onyango says with concern.
"Our landscape often depends on a boxer being surrounded by a perfect team, and one that also tends to share the same vision."
When that fails, evidence shows that boxers end up bearing the brunt of inactivity, fading dreams, and lack of finances.
It is on the theme of God's timing for Onyango that a deal with pan-African boxing promoter Kalakoda presented itself late last year, reviving his hopes of one day contesting and becoming world champion, while still in his prime.
"Kalakoda, through Greg Cox, approached me last year and we got into an arrangement with the top man (Saul Loggenberg), that I would take part in five fights across 2026," Onyango says.
"The promoter's idea is one I was instantly sold on, given that boxers are at the forefront of things."
Onyango's first fight under the promotion was the inaugural "Nightmare in Nairobi" on 25 November 2025, when he secured a judges' decision victory over Tanzania's Bariki Solomoni.
As fate would have it, his upcoming fight is against another Tanzanian, whom Onyango says he will seek to put away quite quickly.
"I have had a closer look at him; he is quite experienced, and that means I will need to go out there and do my job in the best possible way."
On what performance to expect, Onyango, who normally draws a huge crowd on fight nights, keeps it simple: "Dominant. Great."
That, ultimately, is what he wants to become.