The Chief Executive Officer of the Ashongman Boxing League, Mr. Ikedi Success Enyioha, has called on corporate bodies, individuals, business people and fans of the Boxing sport to help nurture and bring out the best young boxing talents in Ghana.
The CEO of Ashongman Boxing League expressed that a huge problem with the growth of boxing in Ghana is the lack of local support.
Mr. Enyioha, who is currently training one serious young boxer also cited the lack of sponsorship as one of the major setbacks in boxing promotion.
“Basically sponsorship for boxing in Ghana is sometimes problematic, because the sponsors that we are going to reach out to, in order to do serious boxing matches in Accra Ghana, most of these sponsors and even international boxers look down on Africa. They look down on us here and I believe that the reason for this is because of how boxing is presented over here.”
Against this background, according to him, the Ashongman Boxing League is coming with a different package and further to present boxing in a different way that is going to make sponsors understand those in Accra here are capable of having the market for that sponsorship.
The CEO of Ashongman Boxing League was speaking in an exclusive interview with Kasapa FM Sports.
” Accra was recently ranked second most expensive city to live in, if people here can not afford to live in Accra then Accra wont be ranked second most expensive city in the world.”
Meaning that Ghana is capable just that we have to show the international market that we are consumers worthy of notice,” he said.
He added that the Ashongman Boxing League is going to be the game-changer since they are trying to build a boxing league, a boxing presentation for that matter whereby sponsors can know that we have the market to support their sponsorship.
“And again we want to create responsible, respectable boxers that other boxers out there can respect enough to want to come down here to take on professionally, this will the Ghanaian market and the boxing is presented in a way that shows this capability, they are very good boxers all over Ghana but their presentation is lacking.
This is one thing I believe that we can deliver in spades if given the chance by Ghanaians and international audiences. So what I want to say is that Ghanaians should do their part by supporting their local talents,” he passionately appealed.
Touching on the pool of boxing talents in Ashongman Estates, he mentioned that there are many talents in Ashongman Estates not just Bukom or JamesTown.
“We need to support our talents from scratch not when they have made it. Whenever a promoter puts up a show or event, we need all the locals to support the promoters and all the young talented boxers, note just GBA, brand sponsors or The government.
He said “The reason why boxing and entertainment are the power houses they are in the US is simple, people there willfully support their local talents by buying tickets very costly and paying for merchandise which in turn supports the local talent, but in Ghana, the attitude that free or cheap is the way, is doing more harm than good.”
Ghanaians need to be part of all the activities that promote boxing, not just retweeting and reposting, spend money on what you wish to see grow.
A promoting any boxing event to international standardd costs around 40,000 GHS to organize, now if 300 Ghanaians want to come in and pay 30ghs thats 9000GHS, the promoter doesn’t profit, so how will the boxers benefit or even make a living from boxing in Ghana? When and how will we show the international audience that we have what it takes in Ghana for them to take us serious? That day will never come with the current level of support the boxing talents and promoters get from the average Ghanaian, now if , you are supporting the promoter and organisers who put the match together, then you will automatically be supporting the boxings and the sport in general.”
He made a shocking revelation that a lot of boxers after matches even go home on empty stomachs.
“Many boxers don’t even have what to eat after fighting. It only takes a promoter with God in his heart to even say take this or take that especially when you have run at a loss after match event. Because, look to be honest with you, most of the promoters in Accra understand what I’m saying. If you want to promote a match in Accra to an international standard, you are ready to run at a loss and no one will do this without sponsorship, and many promoters struggle for sponsorship.”
On why he chose to enter into boxing promotion, he said it did not happen by chance but rather through a vision.
“I entered into Boxing Promotion because I saw a vision looking at Boxing as it is in Ghana and I believe that with my skills set as a cinematographer, sound engineer and also someone who understands proper use of social media for marketing and presentation, I know that with my skills, I can be able to add just the right ingredients to spice up the image of boxing as it is, I can be able to present boxing in a better way that will be more attractive and impactiful both to Ghanaians and to an international audience. So, for me, that was my main reason to enter into the promotion of boxing.”