• Azumah Nelson

Imagining something is one thing; making it a reality is another.

So when a number of young boxers were giving a micro­phone to interact with Ghana’s boxing icon and professor, Azumah Nelson, they freely shared their dreams to become like him.

That was understandable and acceptable.

The children numbering close to 100 were participants in a day’s Boxing Boot Camp at the Accra Sports Stadium on July 29 under the auspices of WBC Cares. It was to celebrate the 65th birthday of the leg­endary boxer.

As young and upcoming boxers, there is nothing wrong in having such dreams to be­come like Azumah Nelson who reached the pinnacle of boxing and is a World Boxing Council (WBC) Hall of Famer.

One after the other and in the presence of their trainers and a heavy media presence, the children expressed their desire and likeness for Zoom Zoom, a fighter they never watched live.

But through the power of television, they seem inspired by his exploits in the ring and the duration he lasted as a world champion; dominating the feather and super feath­erweight divisions considered a sanctuary for the dreaded Mexican fighters.

They were not saying that out of nothing because the boxing professor had earlier shared with them what it takes to be at the very top of their respective careers. So, to aim to be like Azumah Nelson, they knew what they were saying.

So, first of all, it is grati­fying to have a generation of young boxers aspiring to reach the level of stardom but having such desires is not a guarantee for one to get there.

Like the boxing professor said, it requires a lot of sacri­fice, self-discipline and disci­pline in and outside the ring.

Another opportunity realise this ambition of such children is the quality of training they get from their coaches as well as removing some of the ad­ministrative bottlenecks that hinder the growth and devel­opment of the boxer.

Quite often, concerns have been raised about the compe­tence of local trainers and the need to upgrade them.

Secondly, it appears Ghana as a country has not been able to manage the transition from amateur to the professional ranks well and on many occa­sions, having boxers turning professional due to lack of activity at the amateur level.

The recent case of Ghana’s sole medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Samuel Takyi, turning pro after the Games and capitalizing on a boxing provision to rejoin the Black Bombers was a clear case of inde­cision on the part of a boxer and his advisors.

In guiding these young pugi­lists to become like Azumah Nelson, they must have the best of everything – good training from qual­ified coaches, good training regimen, sound administrative and managerial decision, and discipline and sacrifice from themselves.

The Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) and Ghana Boxing Feder­ation (GBF), the two reg­ulatory bodies for boxing in the country must also make it their responsibility to ensure that these children are han­dled by qualified personnel.

When this happens, it would surely push us closer to not just realising these dreams of the children but produce a new set of world champions.

And when we get there, the benefits may be more than just producing the next Azumah Nelsons because we may likely see new Ike Quarteys, Joshua Clotteys, Nana Yaw Konadus, Richard Commeys, Isaac Dog­boes and other great boxers.

 By Andrew Nortey