Boxing IMC cracks whip: Top boxers, referees, promoters slapped with suspensions and fines
The Ghana Boxing Interim Management Committee (GBIMC) has taken a stern stance against several high-profile figures in the sport, banning and fining boxer Bastie Samir, veteran referee Roger Barnor, and leading promoter Alex Ntiamoah-Boakye for their roles in an unauthorised boxing event staged during the nationwide suspension of boxing activities.
The sanctions stem from a 10-bout programme held on October 25 at the Aborigines Hotel in Keta, Volta Region, at a time when boxing in Ghana had been temporarily suspended due to medical and safety concerns.
Investigations by the committee revealed that the Keta fight night went ahead in blatant disregard of the suspension. Although the event was officially listed on the international boxing website BoxRec as having taken place at Akusa Park in Lomé, Togo, and purportedly sanctioned by the Togolese Boxing Federation, the GBIMC said available evidence conclusively proved that the bouts were staged in Keta, Ghana.
As a result, Samir and his opponent, Abraham Okine, both of whom failed to honour summons to appear before the GBIMC Disciplinary Committee, were each handed a 12-month ban from boxing.
Other boxers sanctioned include Commonwealth Youth super flyweight champion Michael “Black Spider” Abban, who has been fined GH¢2,000 and will serve a three-month suspension should he default on payment. WBO Africa junior welterweight champion Faisal Abubakari and Joshua Quartey have also been fined GH¢1,000 each, with a two-month suspension hanging over them if the fines are not settled.
Referee Roger Barnor, a former First Vice-President of the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA), has been slapped with a GH¢5,000 fine and faces a six-month ban from all boxing-related activities in the event of default. Fellow referees Erasmus Owoo and Richard Amevi have likewise been punished, receiving fines of GH¢1,000 and GH¢2,000 respectively, or serving three-month and nine-month suspensions if they fail to pay.
Promoters Alex Ntiamoah-Boakye of Box Office Sports Promotions and Abubakar Sadik Akake of Akake Promotions, who hosted the controversial event, have both been handed six-month suspensions in addition to fines of GH¢5,000 each.
Trainers Ebenezer Adjei, popularly known as Coach Killa, and Ernest Ofori of the Charles Quartey Boxing Foundation have been fined GH¢2,000 each or face four-month bans. Both have also been barred from ringside duties during the sanction period.
Medical officer Edward Asante, who also failed to respond to a summons from the GBIMC Disciplinary Committee, has been fined GH¢5,000 or will serve a three-month ban. Mr Asante, a long-serving ringside nurse at boxing events across the country, has been further cautioned to operate strictly under the supervision of a qualified medical doctor at future programmes.
All sanctions take effect from December 23, 2025, in what the GBIMC has described as a firm statement of intent to restore discipline, credibility and safety to Ghana boxing.
The GBIMC, led by former Ghana boxing chief and veteran promoter, Samir Captan, was sworn into office on September 29, following the suspension of boxing activities on September 26 in the wake of the death of boxer Ernest “Bahubali” Akushey, 12 days after suffering a brutal stoppage defeat to Jacob “The Beast” Dickson.
After nearly two months of work to overhaul medical and safety standards, including the introduction of a health insurance policy for all registered boxers, the GBIMC, acting through the National Sports Authority, officially lifted the ban on boxing on November 6.
