By STEPHEN ONGARO

Two Kenyan professional boxers will stake their claim to vacant Commonwealth titles next month.

Evans Ashiara Oure, who is based in Denmark, and national welterweight champion Joshua Onyango "Poison" both have been picked to vie for the vacant Commonwealth light-middleweight crown late next month.

Oure, 31, with a record of 20-0, is preparing to defend his WBA middleweight title against a Spanish opponent. Onyango, with a 10-2 record, is currently based in the US.

South Africa-based based middleweight George Adipo Aduori will also fight for a Commonwealth crown. He will challenge defending champion David Steer of Britain next month.

In a related development, Africa light-flyweight gold medallist Suleiman Bilali will get an automatic selection to the Kenya team for Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England next July.

The secretary of the Amateur Boxing Association of Kenya (ABA), Charles Gituma, said yesterday that Bilali's consistent performance in domestic and international assignments had also earned him automatic selection to the Kenya team for Zone 5 championship in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia next month.

Gituma said yesterday that ABA had forwarded the names of 12 boxers to the Commonwealth steering committee at the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) but would not disclose the names.

Gituma said ABA might send only eight boxers to the Addis Ababa tourney while for the Club Games list may be trimmed to six.

Gituma said the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) had announced its new weight categories for all international competitions including the Olympic Games.

According to the circular sent to all AIBA affiliates, the super-heavyweight category of over 91kg has been scrapped.

This leaves 11 weight categories to be contested. These are light-flyweight (48kg), flyweight (51kg), bantamweight (55kg), featherweight (59kg), lightweight (63kg), light-welterweight (67kg), welterweight (71kg), light-middleweight (76kg), middleweight (82kg), light-heavyweight (88 kg) and heavyweight (95kg).

Categories for women boxers will have pinweight (45kg) to light-heavyweight berth. Participants in the 45 kg weight class must weigh at least 42 kg and participants in the 48 kg weight class must weigh at least 45 kg. These changes are effective as from January 2002, the circular said.

Meanwhile, the provincial intermediate championships have been scheduled for February 16 and 17 and national championships from February 21-23 at the Thailand Githurai Hall in Nairobi.