By Francis Ajuonuma
Boxing promoter and manager, Olusola Ayodele, says professional boxing is on the rise again in the country after many years of decline.
Ayodele, also known as Sola Ford made the observation at a recent seminar organised by the Nigeria Boxing Board of Control (NBB of C) for boxers, coaches, managers and promoters.
The Ibadan-based boxing promoter believes that the present crop of young boxers being exposed to big fights in the country and abroad, it is only a question of time before Nigerian boxers start to dominate professional boxing again as it was in the late 50s and 60s.
He attributed the rise of professional boxing in the country to the hard-working quality of the current leadership of NBB of C headed by Dr. Rafiu Ladipo.
” I must have to commend the present leadership of the board for all they’re doing to ensure that Nigeria professional boxing is on another page and everybody is now imbibing Ladipo’s message of ‘drop the gun and pick the gloves.
” The just concluded seminar is commendable because it afforded boxers, coaches and managers to be abreast with the most modern rules of the game and their relationship amongst each other and we look forward to having more of such seminars in future”, he said.
On how to further move the sports forward, Ford whose boxer, Ridwan ‘Scorpion’ Oyekola is making waves in Japan; having won all his four fights believes that if sponsors can invest half of what they put in football into boxing, Nigeria will become the second Las Vegas of World boxing.
” We have a lot of talented boxers in this country and we promoters are doing our best to ensure they become world champions but we need the support of corporate Nigeria to make it happen. I can tell you that if we have half of the sponsorship football is getting, Nigeria will become the second Las Vegas of World boxing.
He also announced that there are plans for his boxer, Scorpion to have a mega fight in the United States before the end of this year just as he announced that he has other boxers doing well in the Asian country.
