‘Bad leadership is the bane of boxing’

A former light heavyweight boxer, Joe Ansah, has bemoaned the dwindling fortunes of Ghana boxing, citing bad leadership and inadequate preparations towards international tournaments as the cause.

The boxer, who is now chief of Opetekwei, near Mpoasie in the Greater Accra Region, said boxing had given the country more titles than football yet the ministry gives more premium to football than other sports.

He added that the only national boxing gym at high street where he and his colleagues used to train has been sold and turned into a church called the Global Revival Ministry (Baden Powell Hall).

“We spend so much money on football when we dont even have a single national boxing gym”, he stressed.

Mr Ansah, who together with colleagues such as Joshua Clottey, Ike Quartey, Justice Archer and Alex Aglah represented the nation in the 1990s, was commenting on the recent poor showing of the Black Bombers at the recent All Africa Games held in Brazzaville.

According to him, but for individual boxing clubs and gyms in Accra and other parts of the country, boxing would have been a dead sport by now.

“Our boxers are working hard and they struggle to make a name for themselves but our leaders are not helping them”, he noted.

The outspoken chief mentioned that to excel at international tourneys, Ghanaian boxers must get access to efficient training facilities and train adequately for several months before embarking on any assignment.

He stated that when he and his colleagues started fighting, they trained for several months prior to any international championships.

“How can you win medals if you wait till three weeks to a tournament before you start preparing?” he asked. He advocated individual championships across the length and breadth of the country to help unearth talents.

He also called on the government to create avenues for individuals and corporate organisations to take over the promotion and development of the once glowing sport in the country.