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
In a resolve to build clearer pathway for athletes, the President of the Ghana Taekwondo Federation (GTF), Mr Frederick Lartey Otu, has indicated the new executive’s commitment to strengthen collaboration with major stakeholders in the development and promotion of the sport.
According to him, it would be difficult to achieve its set targets set for the new elected term without a good working relations with such collaborators.
Mr Otu said this when he addressed participants at the closing ceremony of the 16th edition of the Korean Ambassador’s Cup Taekwondo Championship held last Saturday at the Borteyman Sports Complex.
The event saw the Greater Accra Region’s dominance as they amassed a total of 26 medals consisting of 10 gold, eight silver and eight bronze medals.
The Upper East Region followed in second position with a gold, silver and six bronze medals and Western Region in third after annexing a gold and silver medals.
According to him, the new executive will continue to strengthen collaboration with the Ministry of Sports and Recreation (MoSR), National Sports Authority (NSA), Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC), the Korean Embassy in Accra, corporate organisations as well as educational institutions and Regional Associations.
“Our recent engagements with key stakeholders have reinforced our belief that there is a willingness to support Ghana Taekwondo when we present clear programmes, demonstrate accountability and work collaboratively,” he stated.
Consequently, he assured of the executive board’s commitment to good governance, transparency, accountability, teamwork and respect for all stakeholders.
“We’ll listen to our regions, clubs, coaches, athletes, officials and members of the Taekwondo family. We’ll continue to improve our administrative systems, documentation, communication, financial planning and programme coordination,” he added.
Mr Otu noted that the board was committed to building a sustainable Taekwondo development system that produces athletes, coaches, referees and administrators capable of representing Ghana with pride.
He said starting this month, the GTF will roll out its first major initiative – the Regional Taekwondo Awareness Campaign, to be launched in the Ashanti Region.
The campaign is designed to take Taekwondo directly to the schools and communities, particularly areas where sporting opportunities are limited.
“Our immediate target is to begin with at least five deprived regions — Northern Region, Upper West Region, Bono Region, Central Region and Ashanti Region — and identify young people with the potential to become future Taekwondo athletes,” he emphasised.
Mr Otu expressed gratitude to the Korean embassy for its continuous support for the championship which he said had given Ghanaian athletes the opportunity to compete, gain valuable experience, test themselves against quality opposition and develop the confidence necessary to progress to higher levels of competition.
At the end of the competition, the embassy presented a number of Taekwondo attires to the GTF to boost the sport’s promotion in Ghana.
By Andrew Nortey
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CAF 2nd Vice President and President of the Ghana Football Association, Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku, has visited the Black Princesses in Poland ahead of their opening game at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
The GFA President, who watched the team’s training session, assured the players of the Association’s full support and backed them to make history by qualifying from the group stage for the first time.
“A few days ago, I was in a chat with the head coach and I promised that I was going to join him for what I think is the most important game for us, which is the first game,” President Simeon-Okraku told the team.
“For me, the first game is the most important, because if we start well, chances are that we will do well. History tells us that this team has always been here. We’ve always been at this tournament for seven consecutive times. My inner faith is telling me that we have enough quality here to qualify from this group.”
He praised the players for their sacrifice and patience throughout preparations, saying their investment would be repaid on the pitch.
“You have been patient and gone through the troubles and the hassles. And you are here today. I believe that these sacrifices you have made, these investments you have made, will be repaid,” he said.
The GFA President stressed that Ghana has the quality to overcome their group opponents.
“We are faced by three opponents — Ecuador, Korea Republic and France. These three nations, believe me, are no better than us. We have enough quality in this team to win games in this group and to make it to the second round of the competition.”
“This tournament is played every two years, so after 14 years, this is the 16th year now — this group must be the one that makes it out of the group to the knockout stage. And this must happen.”
“I think the team is ready. The technical team have done a good job. The players have conducted themselves well. We will continue to support you to ensure you get the best to be able to compete at this level.”
He also charged the final squad to make those who missed out proud.
“A few of you were here but didn’t make the squad and had to leave. This is that moment that you have to make them proud.”
President Simeon-Okraku was accompanied to the training ground by Chief of Staff at the GFA, Michael Osekre, and President of Dreams FC, Jiji Alifoe.
Ghana will open their campaign against Ecuador on September 6, 2026, before facing Korea Republic and France in their other group matches.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
