Duke Micah must aim to become No. 1 contender — Promoter

Enterprising local boxing promoter and manager, Alex Ntiamoah Boakye, says bantamweight fighter, Duke Akuetteh Micah, must aim at the number-one contender’s position if he yearns to win a world title in the division.

He asserted that there might be a political twist in relation to the title holders in the bantamweight division who would prefer unifying their belts, instead of defending it against other opponents.

In that regard, the CEO of Box Office Promotions told this newspaper in an interview yesterday in Accra that Duke’s only option would be to keep winning bouts until he becomes the number-one contender in the bantamweight division.

“He must keep winning fights; he must aim for the number-one contender position as a lot of politics comes to play when the opportunity comes for him to fight for the world title. Title-holders may get scared and opt for unification, instead of defence, but if you are the number-one contender, the world champion has no option but to fight you,” Mr Boakye noted.

Micah is set for the second defence of his World Boxing Council (WBC) International bantamweight title when he faces off with American Thomas Snow at the Kings Theatre, Brooklyn, in New York on June 9.

The 26-year-old Micah (21-0-0), popularly referred to as ‘The Baby Face Terminator’, made the first defence of his title against Mexican Jose Santos Gonzalez on November 18 last year in the United States, having wrestled it from another Mexican, Jonathan Aguilar, on March 11, 2017 at the Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra.

Mr Boakye believes Micah will kayo Snow but entreated him to be cautious of the much tougher and experienced Snow.

Meanwhile, a veteran promoter and an Executive Member of the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA), Alhaji Muritella Tofik, believes Micah will win his upcoming fight but stated that he had a long way to go in catching up with the world champion, Isaac Dogboe.

Tofik, also a boxing manager, praised Micah’s fortitude and discipline in the ring and said he is a force to reckon with, though he needs to strive harder and fight tougher opponents to help him get a shot at the world title.

“He has a long way to go to Dogboe’s level but he must strive much harder for the ultimate,” Alhaji Tofik told this paper last Tuesday in an interview in Accra.

Micah, a former Olympian, who is being trained by Carl Lokko and managed by UK-based Ghanaian promoter and manager, Michael Bediako, will use this bout as a stepping stone towards a world title clash with the current WBC super-bantamweight champion, Rey Geovani Vargas Roldan, of Mexico.

Snow comes into this bout on the back of a non-title victory over compatriot, Stephon McIntyre, in October 2017 after a humiliating loss to Puerto Rican Luis Orlando Del Valle in May 2016.

The bout is under the auspices of Evander Holyfield’s ‘‘The Real Deal Boxing Promotion’’ and is dubbed “Real Deal Championship Boxing VI”.