President of the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA), Mr Abraham Kotei Neequaye, has supported the warning issued to Ghanaian journalist Okatakyie Afriyie over the latter’s commentary he made about Sharaf Mahama, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Legacy Rise Sports.
Legacy Rise Sports hosted the ‘Battle of the Beasts’ Boxing Night at the Bukom Boxing Arena, which featured ten high-stakes bouts involving international fighters, including Anthony Joshua.
While the event received both praise and criticism, Afrifa questioned how Sharaf Mahama gathered the resources to stage it, given his alleged lack of work experience.
Following his remarks, some Ghanaian boxers, including Emmanuel ‘The Game Boy’ Tagoe, Joshua Clottey, and others, threatened to physically assault the boxer, claiming that his commentary was false and political propaganda.
Commenting on this in an exclusive interview on Rainbow Sports, the GBA’s president stated that he was in full support of the warning issued to Okatakyie Afrifa.
According to him, Sharaf Mahama began supporting the boxing sector while his father was in opposition, and Afrifa saw no reason to comment but felt compelled to make baseless remarks after his father won the election.
”I would like to take this opportunity to caution those who are politicising our boxing activities. Sharaf Mahama initiated sponsorship of boxing events during his father’s time in opposition, and this support has continued unchanged despite the shift in political power. The presence of notable figures such as Anthony Joshua, Ibrahim Mahama, Despite, Kurt Okraku, and other dignitaries does not alter the nature of the event. Critics should not perceive this as a political activity.
They should refrain from injecting politics into the sport and allow boxing to remain apolitical. With the blessing of influential personalities from both local and international arenas, introducing politics would be detrimental to the sport. Therefore, I support the notion that those who seek to politicise boxing should face consequences for their actions, and if warnings are ignored, the boxers would be justified in taking further action.”
He was, however, quick to add that ‘’I know that it will not be physical for them to beat him. What they are saying is that they are not happy with what the man is doing with their sports, but I don’t think they will physically beat him. As president of the GBA, I will ask him to be careful because for a long time, we’ve not had the attention, and so he should use his selfish interests in destroying our boxing sector.’’
He also revealed that he ran a zero budget at the GBA under the NPP, which Okatakyie Afrifa failed to mention on his show, and yet he has found his voice in attempting to undermine the good progress being made.
“If your party could not support Ghana Boxing and someone has come in to support us, why are you pained? So equally as a president, I am not happy with what he is doing. If my stakeholders and world champions are going after him, I am supporting them, and I will be with them, and we will go after him. But we are not going to be violent. Our beating will be responding in equal measure and not to physically attack him. He spoke with his mouth, and we will equally do the same.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
