10th February, 2012
Are you an ardent boxing follower? Are you worried about the state of the squared roped-sport in Nigeria? There is something now to cheer with the coming on board of five boxing promotional outfits in the country.
As the five companies berth in the country, professional boxers no doubt will have a spell time going by the number of promotions that they would bring into the boxing fraternity.
Professional boxing in the country may be on the slide but it appears the five promoters now on board would bring in their input to better the lot of the pugilist sport.
The arrival of the promoters to some is long overdue, apparently because in recent past lovers of the ‘give and take’ sport rely mostly on foreign promotions to whet the appetite of boxing aficionados.
Other things being at par, the sport stands to gain a lot because the coming of the promoters will breathe new life into the almost dead sports.
Perhaps the said promoters have been by the ring side watching proceeds and are now prepared to take the bull by the horns.
The task ahead for the promoters may be herculean, but Secretary General,Nigeria Boxing Board of Control, NBB of C, Remi Aboderin, believes it is a move in the right direction.
An elated Aboderin expressed his joy and showered encomiums on the five promoters, who he believes can give the sport a facelift.
The scribe declared that the board is enthusiastic with the prospect of working with the new promoters, admitting that their coming will bring back the fading glory of boxing in Nigeria.
But on the contrary, octogenarian and boxing financier, Bisi Lawrence, believes their coming is long overdue hence there is nothing to celebrate about.
In a recent interview with Boxing In Focus, Lawrence stated reiterated that the dearth of boxing promoters in the country is the bane of the sport.
Lawrence, while expressing his grievances, said “the level of boxing in Nigeria has deteriorated.”
No doubt the advantages of having many promoters in the country can not be quantified. By the time the promoters pool resources together boxers will no longer have dull moments as it is the case now.
Unbeaten Commonwealth champion and number one contender for the World Boxing Council, WBC Light Welterweight title, Olusegun Ajose, in a recent interview opined that “a boxer cannot improve if there are no competitions for him to exhibit his talent.”