Sports
A tragedy worth discussing
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A boxer collapsing in the ring and eventually passing on is nothing new to followers of the sport of boxing.
It is the reason why commentaries on the collapse and death of a Nigerian boxer, Gabriel Oluwasegun Olanrewaju, in a Ghanaian ring are flying from all angles on both traditional and social media.
In fact, such occurrences are part of the many dangers that are associated with boxing. Some of the boxers that survived the brutal sport even end up suffering major health complications as a result.
That, perhaps explains why some people wonder why boxing is accepted or considered a sport.
Every stakeholders of boxing – from the boxers to the coaches, Matchmakers and Managers are fully aware of what they sign on to the moment they join the sport.
The boxers – the biggest sufferers – are aware of these dangers but strangely, they find fighting a passion and worth pursuing with the hunger required to succeed.
At the beginning, their sight and affection is fixed on the beautiful stories they read or hear about boxers that ended their careers successfully and becomes wealthy millionaires.
The mention of Oscar de la Hoya, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao, Caesar Chavez, Saul Alvarez Canelo, Gennady Golovkin, Ike Bazooka Quartey, and Azumah Nelson, among others fuels that passion.
So, at the start, issues about the dangers associated with it is not a concern at all.
Intriguingly, in Africa where logistics and required protocols are often not satisfactory, such incidents are not common.
For Nigerians, the first recorded case of a boxing tragedy occurred on June 14, 1982 when a young Ali collapsed in the ring, fell into coma, and died from blood clot two days later as he fought Ireland’s Barry McGuigan.
The list of victims of such incidents is so long.
Robert Wangila was a promising young fighter in Kenya but that burgeoning career was curtailed on July 22, 1994 when he died from an operation to remove a blood clot from his brain after a fight with USA’s David Gonzalez.
United Kingdom’s James Murray collapsed in the final round and died two days later after suffering brain injuries when he fought countryman, Drew Docherty.
On December 13, Zambia had their first experience with the sport’s darkest side.
Felix Bwalya emerged as a talented Zambian boxer and won a gold medal at the 1991 All-Africa Games and competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
As a professional, he became African champion and went 12–1 (9 KO) on his way to winning the Commonwealth belt.
Nicknamed ‘The Hammer’, he captured the African Boxing Union light welterweight and Commonwealth super lightweight titles in 1995 and 1997 respectively, the latter after a controversial victory over Briton Paul Burke in Lusaka but subsequently died from head injuries sustained in the fight.
Bwalya was knocked down three times in the final rounds and died nine days later.
While in a coma, he was found to have had malaria in his bloodstream. The autopsy report stated that the cause of death was cardiorespiratory failure, severe blunt force trauma to the head, and bronchopneumonia in his right lung.
For Ghanaians, Gabriel Olanrewaju tragedy may be the first in a local ring but not so for Ghanaian boxer, Steve Dotse, whose opponent, Bobby Tomasello, of the USA collapsed in his dressing room after a 10-round draw on October 10, 2000.
He fell into coma from which he never wake up, dying five days later.
From this, one could clearly find out that boxing and some of these health dangers are bedfellows but that of these dangers can be controlled when the right protocols are put in place.
All these unfortunate boxers had medical clearances before their respective fights but that did not absolve them from such incidents, hence the need to be serious with their medical checkups.
Gladly, the calls for a thorough investigation into the Bukom Boxing Arena incident are directed at ensuring that the right protocols are enforced on fight nights to minimise such dangers.
One would only hope that the outcome of investigation would not find either the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) or their counterparts, the Nigeria Boxing Board of Control (NBBC) culpable, despite the conflicting comments in their respective statements on the incident.
Going forward, this should serve as a wake-up call for the GBA to always ensure that the various structures in the federation works without unwarranted interference.
Again, dangers associated with the sport can also be stretched to the fans if recent occurrences at the Arena are anything to go by. That adds a lot of weight to the responsibilities on the GBA to make the sport very safe for all
By Andrew Nortey
There couldn’t have been a more challenging moment for Black Stars coach, Carlos Queiroz than the situation he faced ahead of the commencement of the 2027 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) Group C qualifiers.
Apart from opening the qualifying campaign with two high-profile encounters against The Elephants of La Cote d’Ivoire, and following up with The Gambia, Queiroz has been hit hard by several player withdrawals.
As of press time, seven top players of the team had announced their withdrawals with just about two days to the Bouake ‘clasico’ where the Ivorians engaged Ghana in a tough clash that reminded fans of their historic meeting in the finals of the 1992 edition of the championship that was decided after a marathon penalty shoot-out.
Queiroz was forced to make late changes to his side as Mohammed Kudus, Thomas Partey, Antoine Semenyo, Captain Jordan Ayew, Prince Adu Kwabena, Alidu Seidu indicated their unreadiness to serve.
This group of players can be considered as the spine of the team, and without them, the team is weak, timid, putting their ability to face the Elephants in their own habitat in doubt.
From the players, several excuses –mostly on injuries and fitness, have been given for the decision and they expect Ghanaians to just accept that and move forward.
Before the withdrawals, Atletic Bilbao’s Inaki Williams also announced his retirement from international football. Fact is, what he actually wanted to tell Ghanaians is that he would not play for the Black Stars again.
Others like Kevin Prince Boateng have walked on this path with the Black Stars before, turning his back on Ghana after enjoying his World Cup experience.
For the two, there would have been no World Cup experience without the opportunities presented by the Black Stars.
All of these are pointing to a particular trajectory which the Ghana Football Association (GFA) must be seen to be finding solutions to.
Clearly, it is showing a pattern where either players are becoming selective with the games they play or beginning to see the AFCON as an inferior championship.
Maybe what every Black Stars player must be reminded about is the fact that Ghana’s credentials at senior level were achieved through efforts at the AFCONs and not the World Cup which Ghana’s maiden qualification came in 2006.
At the AFCON, Ghana boasts of four trophies and considered heavyweights although recent history shows otherwise. For the World Cup, all the Black Stars have to show for is the quadrennial $100,000 appearance fee bonanza.
And if they don’t know, they must be told that those paydays don’t affect Ghana’s position on the FIFA rankings.
Maybe, the recent withdrawals should spark the conversation to let the Black Stars understand that just as they strive to make a name for themselves at the World Cup, fans back home equally demand same for the AFCON that presents a better chance for silverware than the World.
The FA must not entertain these excuses on the face value. They must verify some of the claims and excuses to ensure future withdrawals can be controlled. What is needed for the team to thrive is commitment and dedication at all platforms. Anything less will spell doom for the Black Stars.
By Andrew Nortey
The driver stopped the vehicle at the gate of the big fenced property along the Nsawam Highway, and Kakraba stepped out to meet the several workers who had gathered to wait for him. He greeted them and went to straight to the point. ‘Gentlemen, I am glad to see that you have almost completed the clearing of the land. I’m happy to report that we have concluded all arrangements with Nana Serebour, and construction of the palace will start in a few days.
I will need you to go and level the ground, and come back to start this project. Some workers from a construction company will come and join us to start the project. My plan is to build twenty houses in four months, then we will do twenty more until we reach two hundred.
I am relying on you to help me deliver good quality work to satisfy our clients, and as I have already indicated to you, I will reward you for your work’. After an hour’s discussion, he closed the meeting and moved to drive away. Wofa Yaw drew closer.
‘Director, can you please spare me five minutes? I would like to discuss a small issue’. ‘Why Wofa Yaw, your wife has threatened to leave you?’ ‘No, Director’. My wife will never leave me. This concerns a young niece of mine’.
‘I hope it’s something I can help with. Please sit in the car and let me hear you’. ‘Boss, my niece Beesiwa is a polytechnic graduate, very beautiful and with very good character.
Unfortunately, her parents virtually forced her into a relationship with an idiot based in the US, which impacted her badly. She has now recovered from that experience, and boss, I am respectfully asking if you would find a job for her.
I promise you that you will never regret it’. ‘Well, Wofa Yaw, let me meet her and speak with her. I may be able to help, maybe not in the way you will expect, but let me meet her. I will not be back here till after a week, but I will be at the office the whole of next week. You can come with her’.
‘On Monday morning, Wofa Yaw and Beesiwa were seated at the office by nine. Three young ladies welcomed them warmly, offered them soft drinks, and assured them that Kakraba would be there shortly, and got seated behind computers with large screens showing various building designs. Kakraba walked in and greeted them warmly, and after chatting with the three ladies, he ushered Wofa Yaw to his office’. ‘Director, this is my niece, Beesiwa. I mentioned her to you when you came to Nsawam’. ‘Yes indeed. Madam Beesiwa, you are very beautiful, as your uncle said. Wofa Yaw is my colleague.
We have just started a building project that will take about three to four years. He mentioned that you have a very small problem, so I said I would like to meet you, and see how I can help. So Beesiwa, please tell me a little about yourself’.
Beesiwa described her childhood, her school experience, her brief work at the bank, and the nasty episode with Sammy Abrokwa which shattered her peaceful life, and how she had been recovering’.
‘I am really sorry to hear this. Now, here is what we are going to do. We are a small but very busy company. The three ladies over there spend most of the day on site, and come back to report on their work in the morning.
I have three main projects. The big one is an estate project in Nsawam, where your uncle is one of my main colleagues. I need a personal assistant who can take care of my activities, especially when I am not in town.
Now, we will have to start with trust. Based on what I know about Wofa Yaw, and based on what you yourself have told me, I think we can start on a sound basis. So, Wofa Yaw will take you to my home. You can move into one of the four guest rooms. I will give you a good phone and a laptop. I will arrange computer lessons for you’. ‘Sir, I have taken some computer lessons, and I have even done graphics and web design’. ‘Fantastic! Now, Wofa Yaw, take her home. My sister Kuukuwa will meet you and show you round, and you can return to Koforidua. When would you like to start work?’ ‘Sir, I would like to start today, but I would need to go and bring my things’. ‘No problem. Take a taxi to my house, meet my sister, and let me know what you decide’.
Kakraba and the three ladies met with some bank officials to conclude on the sale of the three buildings at Adabraka.
They closed at five-thirty, and after rewarding the ladies for their hard work, he got home just after dark. He was surprised to find Kuukuwa and Beesiwa sitting at table enjoying supper. ‘What’s happening here?’ her said. ‘Beesiwa, I thought you would return to Koforidua?’ ‘She changed her mind’, Kuukuwa said. ‘We went to the Mall and bought a few things for her, and we came back to cook. She has made some nice changes to your bedroom. And she cooked a couple of interesting things. Sit down, we will serve you’.
‘Well, I certainly can’t refuse that. It’s been a busy day. So what’s the plan now? Will Beesiwa go to Koforidua tomorrow, gather her stuff together and come down? ‘No, I will stay here for a while. Kuukuwa bought me things that I need, so I may go back next week. I’m ready to start work. What would you like me to start with?’
‘Well, you can come to the office tomorrow morning, meet the three girls and get a feel of what we do. Since you are living here, at least for now, we can discuss the plans for the next few weeks. Sometimes there are gaps when I travel up north. You can take care of things from now. I think the girls would like having someone like you around’.
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