Africa is set to take a major step forward in developing boxing on a global scale. Although few African boxers competed in the recently concluded Olympic tournament, the rise of some young talents has been remarkable. In particular, Cidy Ngamba, the Cameroonian who represented the refugee team, won the group's first medal. He did so in boxing.

Several African countries are keen to progress. Ethiopia, for example, will make a big step forward at the Champions' Night on 17 August. The event, organised in conjunction with the country's boxing federation, will feature seven bouts.

The headline bout pits Zambia's Patrick Chinyemba against Ghana's Theophilus Allotey. Chinyemba defeated Russia's Artur Nagapetian in Dushanbe, Tajikistan to become the first African winner of an IBA Champions' Night. He now returns at 51kg for an eight-round contest. The African Games champion and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist will face Allotey, a fellow African Games bronze medallist whom he defeated in Accra on his way to the African title last year.

Peter Pita Kabeji of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the reigning African Championships and African Games champion, will take on Yusuf Changalawe of Tanzania in an eight-round fight at 80kg. The bout is a rematch of the African Games semi-final, which Kabeji won by unanimous decision.

The other bout is at 51kg. Uzbekistan's Nodirjon Mirzakhmedov takes on Kazakhstan's Temirtas Zhussupov over eight rounds. Uzbekistan's dominance in Olympic boxing has firmly established the country as a global power.

In another bout, Mexico's Daniel Valladares will take on Russia's Edmond Khudoyan. European champion and world bronze medallist Khudoyan has a history with Zhussupov, whom he defeated on the IBA Champions' Night in Belek, but has never faced former IBF minimumweight world titleholder Valladares.

Zhussupov, the 2021 world champion, will face Mirzakhmedov again after beating him at the World Championships in Belgrade. The Uzbekistan-born Mirzakhmedov has won two Asian titles.

There are four other bouts on the undercard, including a women's -75kg clash between Mozambique's Rady Gramane, a World Championship and African Games bronze medallist. She will face Nigeria's Patricia Mbata, the African Games champion.

Ethiopia's Temesgen Mitiku will faceAfrican Games silver medallist Yassine Elouarz of Morocco in the -75kg category. Abubeker Sefan will face Ghana's Joseph Commey in the 60kg category. Commey is the African Games champion and Commonwealth Games runner-up. This is a historic event. It is the first time that an African country has hosted such an important event on its soil.