Boxing: Road to Rio, extinction of quality pugilists, GOtv night of hope

EDIALE KINGSLEY looks at the recent upset encountered at the qualification stages of the Rio Olympics, the tragic low of recent performances in Nigeria boxing and the hope GOtv Boxing Night beams.

Robbery Vs Poor preparation
Following a disappointing outing at the boxing qualification for the Rio Olympics in Yaounde, Cameroun, the national boxing coach, Tony Konyegwachi has said that it was a gang up to kick Nigerian boxers out of the tournament. “We were robbed because all these North African countries pay so much for them to qualify their boxers for the Olympics. Nigerian boxers did well except for robbery because our first seven fight we won got us to the quarter finals and when they knew we would break into the medals table they started robbing the boxers. Even the final of Caroline Linus was clean robbery, she won the final, she won the gold but they robbed it,” he said. Tony added that despite the short time preparation he was impressed with performances of the boxers and believes they can secure other qualifying spots when the tournament in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan begins.

“These boxers did very well despite training for three weeks the boxers really impressed us. We have other chances to qualify more boxers, another tournament is coming up in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, by then more boxers will qualify”. However former national boxing coach Olisa Nwapa said that the trip to Yaounde was a mere waste of funds stressing that the boxers did not prepare well enough for the qualifiers. “They went to waste funds because the preparation was not there. We run programs to get the results, if we don’t run programs then what are we talking about,” he said. The Nigerian contingents will be aiming to overturn the disappointments experienced in Yaounde when they go all out to secure slots for Rio in the Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan world championships.

Meanwhile, Efe Ajagba will be Nigeria’s only representative at the upcoming Rio Olympics bagging gold in the final of the AIBA Africa Olympic qualifiers in Yaounde, Cameroon.

Caroline Linus missed the chance to represent Nigeria at the Rio Olympic Games after losing to Morocco’s Zohra Ez-Zahraoui in the women’s flyweight category. Sport’s analyst for Brilla FM, Eseoghene Edafe, is of the opinion that it wasn’t about robbery but more of inadequate preparations, “Tony is just trying to provide a shade for the Sport’s ministry who did not ensure provision for basic programs and preparations”. Edafe added that the coach is trying not to fall out of favor with the sports ministry in order to benefit more from the ministry, being that there’s still some hope to get funds from the ministry for the Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan world championship. “Saving the ministry would put him in good position of receiving some funds for the next outing. I rather have him say the truth and put the blame on the Sport ministry than blaming the boxing officials. If the officiating was bad how come they were able to scale through to this stage?”

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What is happening to Nigeria’s boxing
The poor performance of Nigerians at the boxing qualification for the Rio Olympics in Yaounde and the near extinction of quality pugilists in Nigeria have necessitated the need to beam a searchlight on the pathetic state of boxing in Nigeria. Many say it’s awkward for boxing; the sport that first put Nigeria’s name on the world map, to continue on the course of a free fall. Because long before football took the centre stage, boxing brought glory to Nigeria, “With the exception of Chief Aiyegbeni, Martin Osaile and Chief Aboderin, Nigeria boxing promoters have almost gone into total oblivion. Nigerian boxers lack identity.

During their fighting days, Foreman remained himself. The same was true of Lennox Louis, Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Leonard and others. The way they talked, entrance to the ring, presentation before the media, trunk and glove colours and fighting style gave them their individual identities. Nigerian boxers are however completely different.”said Dan Osakwe, a sports writer. He added that, “Memories are made of the exploits of late Dick Tiger, Ihetula, former world light heavyweight boxing champion, Hogan Jimoh, Dele Jonathan, perfect boxing man, Davidson Andeh and Ngozika Ekwelum. Great Olympic medalists like late Nojeem Mayegun (the first Nigerian boxer to win an Olympic medal in boxing), Isaac Ikhuoria, Peter Konyegwachie and David Izonretei remain Nigeria’s shining examples in the history of Olympic boxing. Up till two decades ago or less, boxing promoters were keen on promoting boxing in Nigeria. Great fights like Soul Mambie versus Obisia Nwakpa and Ngozika Ekwelum against Kilimanjaro were promoted by Nigerians”.

Ajuba Noble, a boxing promoter, calls out on the media to give the needed support, “A lot of Nigerian newspapers and magazines hardly have space for boxing stories and pictures. The press needs to realize that boxing sometimes provides some comic and dramatic pictures that can arouse readers’ interest”.

They lack the identity and rainbow colours associated with boxing and are yet to realize that boxing is pure showmanship with blood. Without showmanship, boxing becomes lethargic and dull. The Nigerian boxing arenas are no longer safe. The general insecurity at fight venues have prevented responsible boxing fans from coming to watch good fights and pay good money; leading to poor returns on investments for promoters and boxers.

What is the way forward?
To take boxing back to its glorious days, both the Nigerian Amateur Boxing Association (NABA)s and Nigerian Boxing Board of Control (NBBC), need to shape up. This is the time to seriously consider the early discovery, nurturing and promotion of young Nigerian boxers. It is only when sponsors come into boxing that the sport can attract the necessary revenue that can improve the welfare of all stakeholders in boxing. Government alone cannot run boxing in Nigeria. Biliaminu Akamo Sanni, one of the heroes of Nigeria boxing once complained about the state of the NBBC, “Things haven’t changed a bit from my days, rather it is getting worse. In my fighting days, everybody wanted to grab whatever they could from you and the moment you don’t have anything, they will all be against you. I remember that while fighting in USA, I had to personally pay my manager back in Nigeria with the money I made in the US, whereas it was the opposite with my US manager who gave me free accommodation and helped me with lots of things, because he saw the potentials in me. My manager in Nigeria and many people in NBB of C just were only interested in their purses and when I had injury, I was left on my own to foot the medical bills”.

There’s also the need to take insurance seriously, “If you fight in Nigeria, you are on your own. That is what happened, there was nothing called insurance coverage in Nigeria when you are in the ring. I don’t know if the situation has changed” Says Sanni.

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It is on record that no Nigerian boxer who fought in Nigeria has ever taken up to N400, 000 pay packet after a fight ( before the recent GoTV N1m boxing night pay ) a sharp contrast to their counterparts in USA, whose pay packets run into millions of dollars.

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Added to these is the fact that most Nigerian boxers these days take to boxing at a relatively late age, unlike what happens in USA where potential boxers are discovered early and nurtured. The obvious advantage of tapping the gains of the acts of giving and receiving are lost because at their late entry age, their muscles and bones are already getting stiff. This affects their overall stamina, “To compound it all, boxing created a vacuum that is now being filled by football, music and other forms of entertainment. Football and music have emerged as gold mine for Nigerian youths. In the area of music and other entertainment, the youths are now interested in looking fashionable rather than take to boxing. Some even regard boxing as a game of punishment. Youths need to be encouraged to take to boxing because apart from the monetary returns (though very important), their names can be entered in the hall of world boxing fame, particularly if they go ahead to make impact like some of their contemporaries in football and athletics”.

GoTV Boxing Night’s Hope
The Nigerian Box-ing Board of Control (NBB of C) has praised the organisers of the GOtv Boxing Night for their unwavering support towards the revival of Boxing in Nigeria Speaking on Monday, General Secretary NBB of C, Remi Aboderin, said the commitment of the sponsors has rekindled hope that Nigeria boxing will soon be reckoned with on the global stage. “There is a new enthusiasm and re-awakening of interest of boxers, who now have brighter hopes of being regularly engaged in the ring. Due to long period of inactivity which, thankfully is becoming a thing of the past because of GOtv’s sponsorship, boxers resorted to menial jobs, became depressed and some took to gangsterism. “In the medium term, let’s say before 2020, we are optimistic that Nigerian boxers will be talked about around the world,” he said.

Former national boxer Olaide Fijabi emerged the best boxer at the sixth edition of the GOtv Boxing Night. The event which took place recently, inside the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Lagos, saw Fijabi defeat Republic of Benin boxer Djamiou Ekekpo, to retain his West African Light welterweight title. Fijabi, saw off Ekekpo via a technical knockout in round six of their 12 round clash.For emerging the overall best boxer of the night, Fijabi was awarded the cash prize of one million naira and the Mojisola Ogunsanya trophy. It was the third time he will be picked as the best boxer of the GOtv Boxing Night.In another international bout that took place also on Friday, Ghana’s Adjei Sowah was knocked out in the third round by Nigeria’s Abolaji Rasheed for the West African Middleweight title.Former best boxer of the Gotv Boxing Night otto Joseph, made light work of Lukmon Jimoh, son of boxing legend Hogan Jimoh, knocking him out in the first round of their National Lightweight six rounds challenge. Meanwhile, in other bouts that took place, Samuel Elegbede and Saidi Lawal, who are both products of GOtv Next Gen Search go head-to-head, with Elegbede winning via a second round knockout.