Few weeks to the maiden edition of President Goodluck Jonathan Boxing Championship billed for Enugu, a US-based boxing agent, Ike Enwereuzor, arrived Enugu, Nigeria over the weekend to give the championship a boost.
Chairman of the Main Local Organising Committee (MLOC), Mr. Ikechukwu Okoronkwo, said Enwereuzor came from United States of America to render assistance to Enugu State Boxing Association and to bring his technical expertise to Nigeria boxing.
“I’m happy that one of our renowned Nigerian Boxing agents based in the United States of America is here in Enugu. He came because of the forthcoming President Goodluck Jonathan Boxing Championship. Our local boxers have a lot to benefit from him. One of the things he’ll do is help organise coaching clinic for our local coaches as well as boxers and officials of the State boxing council”. said Okoronkwo.
Also, there are plans by Lion Boxing Club in Conjunction with Jacboxing Promotions, Enwereuzor’s Sports Consult to bring in experts from America to meet with thesports minister and chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), on how to move Nigerian boxing forward.
The former 1992 welterweight African Champion, Ikechukwu Okoronkwo hinted that Lion Boxing Club is bent on repositioning Nigerian boxing, adding that they had plans to meet with the President of Nigeria Boxing Federation (NBF) to discuss the way forward for Nigeria boxing and also get the services of a Cuban expert to coach Nigerian boxers.
Lion Boxing Club is working round the clock to ensure that boxing in Nigeria returns to its former prestigious position. There are also plans to meet with NBF president and the minister on how to reposition Nigerian sports, especially sports that are no longer doing well in the international scene. Boxing is one of them. We must bring back the glory of boxing to where it was before now…
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
Most of the people involved in boxing in Nigeria know nothing about the sports, we need people who are passionate and knowledgeable to get involved. Less bureaucracy would help.