LAGOS – Some professional boxers on Thursday urged corporate organisations in the country to emulate Gotv in enhancing the development of boxing.
In separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) they commended the effort of Gotv in charting the way forward for boxing.
The boxers, who participated at a one-day Gotv boxing seminar, in Lagos on Wednesday at the National stadium Lagos, said that a new vista was being opened for the sport.
Isaac Ekpo, the Commonwealth Super Middleweight title holder, applauded Gotv for the exposure given to them.
Ekpo, who attended the session in preparation for GOtv organised second Boxing Night bouts, said that such support would help to revive the sport.
“GOtv is doing a wonderful job with boxing and I’m appealing to other organisations to follow in the same direction.
“If more private entities can fund boxing programmes, the sport will regain its lost glory,’’ he said.
Waheed Usman, (Skorol) Featherweight West African Champion, said that the seminar had broadened his horizon.
“The topic on Managing Your Boxing Career anchored by Remi Aboderin and Coach Joe Mensah made me to take a flashback to what we were taught few years ago.
“There is need for boxers to conduct ourselves in a more civil manner in and out of the ring to enable us gain public goodwill,’’ he said.
Usman would be defending his title against Alfred Quaye of Ghana on March 15.
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Also Abe Tiger, a national Heavyweight champion, who would be fighting against Tope Young in the second edition of GOTV 12-bout tournament, described the session as a “consolidation’’.
“As a national champion such meeting afforded me the opportunity to further interact with legends in the sport.
“For us currently in the ring, we still need the encouragement of those senior colleagues like Obisia Nwankpa who was one of the resource persons at the event,’’ Tiger said.
Tiger, who commended Gotv for coming to the rescue of professional boxing in Nigeria with regular tournaments, said that boxing was being revamped.
According to him, very soon Nigerian boxers will begin to earn the revered position they were used to in the 1980s. (NAN)
