Ray Quarcoo rubbishes calls for his dismissal

The president of the Ghana Amateur Boxing Federation (GABF), Ambassador Ray Quarcoo, has described calls to boot him out of office for non-performance as unfortunate.

He said the calls were  calculated mischief merely motivated by a desire to negate his tireless efforts at developing amateur boxing and placing it on a higher pedestal, “otherwise those pushing for my exit should provide substantive evidence to support their claims.”

It is recalled that one Otoo Lartey, who described himself as the organiser of the Greater Accra Amateur Boxing Association (GAABA),  last week called for the dismissal of Ambassador Quarcoo and stated further that unless he was replaced by a committed and hardworking president, boxing would not develop.

 Quarcoo said those making such calls had chosen to keep a blind eye over his commitment and personal contributions, both financially and technically, towards the development of the sport in the country since he took over.

He said  against several challenges such as lack of office space, equipment and handing over notes when he took over the GABF, he  within the shortest possible time had assembled a formidable team for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games where the team won a bronze.

 Subsequently, the Ghana amateur boxing team, the Black Bombers, also made an impressive showing at the AIBA World Championship in Milan, Italy with five members of the team, namely, Maxwell Amponsah, Yekeni Awusone, Ahmed Sasraku, Prince Octopus Dzanie and Manyo Plange being selected to participate in the AIBA novelty World Series.

The GABF boss stated that through his instrumentality, the Black Bombers had the opportunity to travel to Australia for a training tour at which they engaged their Australian counterparts in two provincial tournaments, adding that, through his efforts, the team was invited for a joint training by the Azerbaijan Boxing Association prior to the AIBA World Championship in Baku, which provided the Ghanaian boxers the much needed exposure for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Outlining further some of his personal efforts towards the development of the sport , Quarcoo disclosed that through the support of the German Olympic Sports Commission and the German Embassy in Accra, the GABF was able to host a German boxing expert, who conducted a two-week training workshop on the current trends of the sport for local coaches at the Accra Sports Stadium.

From my own resources, the GABF was able to sponsor Akai Washington Nettey to  Assisi, Italy, to attend a two-week  Three Star Certification Training Workshop, in compliance with  the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA)’s directive”, he stated.