DR. EZEKIEL ADAMU, one of Africa’s leading boxing promoters, believes that any initial teething problems will be promptly ironed out ahead of his next event on December 19.
His latest card, which was aptly titled ‘Chaos in the Ring’, saw cruiserweight contender Brandon Glanton halt Marcus Browne in Lagos, Nigeria, earlier this month.
The event, for the most part, was a resounding success, especially when considering the West African nation’s rare involvement in such shows over the years.
At the same time, though, fans were quick to express their confusion with one particular contest, which featured charismatic super-middleweight Elvis Ahorgah, via social media.
As it happened, the Ghanaian visitor seemed to be inching closer towards a clear victory over Dossou Faustin Houenou – putting on a dominant display, while not quite doing enough to justify an early stoppage – only for a rather abrupt intervention to leave those in attendance scratching their heads.
“It was the president of the Nigerian Boxing Board of Control [who stopped the fight], because he got a call from [The Ghana Boxing Authority] to say that [Ahorgah] didn’t have a licence,” Adamu told Boxing News.
“But [the GBA] didn’t realise that Elvis had got his licence from the [NBBofC] to fight here – passing his medicals – so that situation was quenched and the fight was allowed to continue.”
In the end, Ahorgah claimed a wide victory on points, but was only permitted to do so once his credentials to remain in the ring were clarified.
This element of caution was seemingly in response to the recent suspension of boxing in Ghana, where the GBA’s practices in relation to fighter safety, following the tragic death of Ernest Akushey last month, have come under heavy scrutiny.
With regards to the NBBofC’s commitment to ensuring fighter safety, however, Adamu believes that there is much less of a concern, while also acknowledging that the African commission is by no means perfect.
“There’s a lot of room for improvement, to be honest with you,” he admits. “When you’re [organising] boxing events, and you don’t have the spotlight on you, you can get away with a lot of things.
“But right now, with the spotlight on [the NBBofC], they’ll be forced to do things the right way, and the best possible way, to ensure the safety [of fighters].
“December 19 is coming, and we believe that all of these issues will be dealt with [ahead of the event].
“We’ve never had an issue with safety. To be fair to the commission, they do a really great job when it comes to safety.
“The essence of stopping the fight [involving Ahorgah] was because safety concerns were raised.”
An announcement regarding Adamu’s event on December 19 is expected to arrive soon enough, with the promoter revealing that the show will be headlined by a ‘British-Nigerian heavyweight’.
As for the impact of his show earlier this month, Adamu believes that he is now in a far stronger position to attract the big names to Nigeria.
“It was about proving that we have the capacity to put on world-class events here in Nigeria, and in Africa generally,” he says of the card headlined by Glanton vs Browne.
“I believe that we quenched all of that noise about, ‘Can Africa make it happen; can Africa do it?’
“When we do boxing in Africa, it’s a vibe; it’s a party – it’s a boxing party – so we want to have our own identity.”
