Boxing: Keta hosts explosive Easter fight night, Azumah gets deserved honour
Keta is set to take centre stage this weekend as a star-studded fight card — headlined by a fitting tribute to Ghana’s greatest ring icon, Azumah Nelson — brings elite boxing action to the Volta Region.
The Aborigines Beach Hotel will host Saturday’s “Battle of Torkor Atorlia”, a high-profile promotion by Aborigines Boxing Promotions that blends explosive contests with a strong developmental agenda aimed at expanding boxing’s reach along Ghana’s coast.
The legendary three-time world champion is expected to grace the ringside as the special guest of honour, as the World Alliance Boxing Association (WABA) unveils the inaugural Prof Azumah Nelson Champion Emeritus World Super Featherweight Championship in honour of the boxing icon.
That bout will see Accra rivals and namesakes clash, with former national champion Michael “One Bullet” Ansah squaring off against Michael Pappoe in what is expected to be a crowd-pleasing showdown.
Beyond the headline act, the coastal town will host two additional WABA-sanctioned world title fights, with Saviour Gad facing Eliasu Sulley in an all-Ghanaian contest for the vacant WABA Supreme Global Super Middleweight Championship, while Ghana’s Abubakar Mubarak takes on Benin’s Justin Hounkpevi for the vacant WABA Supreme World Super Middleweight crown.
Explosive supporting bouts
The undercard is loaded with emerging talent, signalling a deliberate effort to spotlight the next generation. Rising prospects John Zile, Bismark Saah, Daniel Otoo and Edmund Akator are all scheduled to feature, alongside two female bouts that add international flavour and diversity to the bill.
Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nwaturuocha meets Ghana’s Lydia Nettey in an international welterweight contest, with Sandra Darkwah Boateng facing Virginia Ansah in a super featherweight clash.
For promoters, the event is as much about legacy as it is about opportunity. The CEO of Aborigines Boxing Promotions, Mitch Gilbert Woollams, described the collaboration with WABA president Onesmo Alfred McBride Ngowi as both symbolic and strategic.
“We are delighted to honour the legacy of Prof Azumah Nelson through this boxing tournament,” Woollams told the Graphic Sports.
He revealed that the Prof Azumah Nelson Champion Emeritus title is intended to become an annual fixture, focusing on the featherweight and super featherweight divisions — categories in which Nelson built his legendary career.
“It’s all for the love of the sport and an opportunity to influence young people here to see boxing as a viable path,” he added. “Most of them are into fishing, but if fighters from Bukom can rise through boxing, why not those along the coast of Keta?”
