Ghana’s male amateur boxing team, Black Bombers, begin a significant technical reset today with long-serving head coach Ofori Asare conspicuously absent from a new six-man coaching team as the national amateur boxing side starts preparations for an international showdown against a select Detroit team in October, and the longer road towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
The Ghana Boxing Federation (GBF) has handed lead coaching responsibilities to Ofori Asare’s long-time assistant, Vincent Akai Nettey, and highly experienced trainer Charles Quartey, signalling a change in direction for one of Ghana’s most successful national sporting teams.
They will be supported by Elvis Robertson, Ben Tetteh, Ebenezer Ofoli Quaye and Sulleyman Martey Korley during a non-residential training camp scheduled to run from September 7 to December 31, 2026.
Training will take place daily from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. at the Accra Sports Stadium as the federation begins building towards a busy international programme that includes the Detroit Challenge in October and an international tournament in Croatia in December, with qualification for LA 2028 also on the horizon.
The technical shake-up is matched by an intriguing selection policy, with the 20-man squad blending established Black Bombers, Commonwealth Games performers, emerging talent and several fighters who have already crossed into the professional ranks.
At the forefront is Amadu Mohammed, the African Games gold medallist who delivered Ghana’s sole boxing medal at the recent Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, taking bronze in the 55kg division.
Glasgow quarter-finalist Desmond Pappoe also returns alongside fellow Commonwealth Games representatives Abdul Wahid Omar, Ebenezer Ankrah and Jibril Muntari, giving the revamped squad a substantial international core.
But perhaps the most striking element is the injection of professional firepower.
Joseph Commey, silver medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and African Games champion in 2023, returns to the national set-up after making an impressive transition to the paid ranks. Commey has already captured national and UBO titles in just over a year as a professional.
He is joined by Henry Malm, who represented Ghana at the Accra 2023 African Games, heavyweight prospect Joseph “Junior Bazooka” Antwi and Benjamin Nii Saka Bulley.
Their inclusion adds experience and competitive depth to a squad that also contains some of Ghana’s emerging prospects, notably 2025 African Youth gold medallist Mathias Ashitey and Zakari Kamoko, son of former Black Bomber and popular Ghanaian fighter Bukom Banku.
The official selection comprises 20 boxers spread across the weight categories, drawing talent from several of the country’s leading gyms.
Black Panthers Boxing Club has the strongest representation with four fighters, while Wisdom Boxing Club and Sea View Boxing Club contribute three each.
Yet it is the overhaul of the technical bench that represents the clearest break with the recent past.
Ofori Asare has been a central figure around Ghana’s amateur boxing programme for years, but his omission places Akai Nettey and Quartey at the heart of the federation’s latest attempt to reposition the Black Bombers for the challenges ahead.
In its letter to the selected coaches, the GBF said the appointments were made “in recognition of your experience, dedication and contribution to the development of amateur boxing in Ghana”.
That experience will be tested quickly.
The visit of the select team from Detroit in October provides the first immediate target before attention shifts to Croatia in December.
Beyond those assignments lies the far more consequential challenge of positioning Ghana’s best fighters for the LA 2028 Olympic qualifiers.
For a country whose Olympic boxing tradition remains one of the strongest pillars of its sporting history, the stakes extend beyond results in friendly international contests.
