Why Boxing Is Declining In Nigeria

Former Lagos State heavyweight boxing champion turned coach, Oluwafemi Sholanke told ADEBOBOLA ALAWODE reasons the game is declining in Nigeria.

You were a force to reckon with in Nigerian professional boxing in the 80s and 90s, but suddenly you went underground, what happened?

Well, it is not that I disappeared but I have been doing so many things to make ends meet.

What have you been doing, are you still in boxing?

I am still in boxing not as a boxer but as a coach. I’m also into computer engineering because I know I won’t be a boxing coach for the rest of my life.

What prompted your decision to go into boxing?

I must confess that when we were teenagers we embraced boxing because I grew up on the Island and there was no way you would be on the Island without going into  pugilist trade.

You led amateur boxers from Amuwo Odofin Local Government to win five medals at the 2012 Ibile Games in Lagos, what was the secret?

The secret were hard work, my experience as a former heavyweight champion and the grace of God. You know that you cannot give what you don’t have, nobody really believed we were going to win five medals in that championship. We prepared very well and God crowned our effort with five medals.

Since you became a boxing coach how many boxers have you groomed to the stardom?

I have discovered a number of boxers from the Festac Boxing Club and Academy, among them is Gift Coal, who is now based in the United States of America. I inspired Gift to go into boxing and he has no cause to regret the decision today. Apart from Gift, I have also discovered some other boxers but they are still very young. I run a boxing academy with a lot of young boxers under me. It is my belief that they would grow up to be world champions someday.

Some people are saying boxing in the country is on the decline, what can you say to this?

I quite agree with these people. I can’t really recollect when a boxing promotion was staged in the country. In those days, bouts are staged on a weekly basis,  but today, the reverse is the case. So what do you expect our boxers to be doing? They will be roaming the streets.

What will you say is the reason for the decline?

The reason is not farfetched because boxing promoters are after what they would get instead of improving on the welfare of the boxers. Boxing facilities are not there for the boxers to train. The Nigerian Boxing Board of Control, NBB of C has not been active, so how do you expect the sport to thrive?

What do you think was responsible for the poor outing of Nigerian boxers at the last Olympics in London?

I must confess the poor performance of Nigerian boxers in London was a concern to me because boxing has always been a sport where we won medals at the Games in the past, but the last Olympics was a bad outing for us.

Why did the boxers fumbled?

It was as a result of poor preparations on the part of the Nigeria Boxing Federation, NBF. The officials failed to prepare the boxers very well and we cannot reap where we did not sow. So officials and the boxers got the result of their preparation in London.