Battle of the Beasts: Allotey outclasses Gorsh to clinch WBO Africa title
Theophilus Kpakpo Allotey delivered on his promise in emphatic fashion, dominating local rival Daniel Selassie Gorsh to capture the WBO Africa bantamweight title in the co-main event of the “Battle of the Beasts” fight night at the Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra.
The capacity Bukom Boxing Arena was thrust into the spotlight as the action-packed fight night was broadcast internationally on DAZN. Organised by Sharaf Mahama’s Legacy Rise Sports in collaboration with Amir Khan’s AK Promotions, the event drew an impressive mix of sports personalities, business executives, and A-list celebrities.
Allotey seized control from the opening bell, dictating the tempo and leaving Gorsh unable to execute his game plan throughout the bout. Fighting before a resilient crowd that defied a downpour — including legendary champions Azumah Nelson and Joshua Clottey, as well as British stars Anthony Joshua and Amir Khan — he delivered a commanding performance. The judges scored it emphatically in his favour: 117-111, 118-110, 118-110, sealing a unanimous decision victory.
The former national amateur standout adds the WBO Africa belt to his fast-growing collection, which already includes the national and UBO Africa super flyweight titles — all achieved in under a year since turning professional. Having publicly vowed to become Ghana’s next world champion, Allotey's clinical dismantling of Gorsh could well be the launchpad.
Tabiti stops Dickson
In the night’s headline bout, American Andrew “The Beast” Tabiti lived up to his nickname by stopping Ghana’s Jacob “The Beast” Dickson in the fourth round to win the maiden WBC Bridgerweight title. Tabiti floored Dickson three times en route to the stoppage, silencing a partisan crowd that had waited until after 4 a.m. for the highly anticipated contest.
Ahmed Abdula also made history on the night, dropping reigning champion Mohammed Haruna in round two and going on to win a convincing unanimous decision — 97-92, 97-92, 96-93 — to claim the national cruiserweight title.
Night of stars
The star-studded event drew high-profile guests, including the Sports and Recreation, die Adams, Ghana Olympic Committee President, Richard Akpokavie; National Sports Authority Director-General, Yaw Ampofo Ankrah; GFA President, Kurt Okraku; musicians Kofi Kinaata, D-Black and Telecel Ghana Music Awards Artiste of the Year, King Promise, why treated to an electrifying performance alongside Kojo Black.
One of the night’s most special moments was the presentation of a commemorative WBC belt to boxing icon Azumah Nelson, a proud member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. The honour formed part of the “Year of Africa” initiative, which celebrates and recognises the achievements of the continent’s boxing legends.
Undercard highlights
In one of the most anticipated undercard bouts, Abu Kamoko — son of Braimah “Bukom Banku” Kamoko and nicknamed Ambitious Tilapia — showed significant improvement in his fourth professional outing. He defeated the outspoken Stephen Ackon via a unanimous decision after six intense rounds in the light heavyweight division. The scores read 60-54 on all cards, as Kamoko, under the watchful eye of manager Sharaf Mahama, reaped the benefits of his recent one-month training stint in the UK.
Ghanaian army officer Jerry Lartey opened the night with a resounding victory, handing Moroccan Anas Hafiane his first professional defeat with a 60-53 win on all scorecards. However, his brother, Jessie Lartey, saw his unbeaten run snapped by UK-based Shilloh Defreitas, who edged him out via majority decision in their six-round welterweight contest.
Richman Ashelley lost to Bulgaria’s Radoslav Rosenov, while Joseph Sackey was outpointed by Abdul Khan, brother of Amir Khan.
In a homecoming bout, British-born Ohara Davies — whose parents hail from Ghana — thrilled the Accra crowd with a dominant performance against Uganda’s Mohamed Alliseni. Davies won on all three cards (78-73, 79-72, 79-72) after eight rounds of one-sided welterweight action.
