Injured Gameboy looks to quick recovery, saturday’s bout with Russian postponed

World Boxing Organisation (WBO) Africa lightweight champion, Emmanuel “Gameboy” Tagoe, says he is looking forward to a quick recovery to put his IBF International and WBO Global lightweight title bout against Russia’s Vyacheslav Gusev back on track after sustaining a hand injury during training at his base at Oyarifa in Accra last Tuesday.

The injury has forced the postponement of his title fight against the Russian, originally scheduled for Saturday at the Bukom Boxing Arena, to February 23 at the same venue, the Ghanaian boxer has revealed.

An x-ray conducted last Tuesday on Tagoe’s injured hand revealed he had suffered a fracture on his right hand, but the boxer says he has been advised by his doctor to take a 12-day rest to allow for complete healing before returning to training.

In a telephone interview yesterday, Tagoe explained to the Daily Graphic that he thought he could fight through the pain barrier but after carrying out an X-ray, his doctor advised him to slow down on his training, hence the need to shift the bout from January 26 to February 23.

“I was going through pad work drills when I suffered an injury in my right hand.

Initially, I thought I could recover early or fight through it, but after my doctor conducted the X-ray he said it would heal completely after 12 days, so I want to assure Ghanaians that I will do everything in my power to return as quickly as possible to train hard for the new date,” said Tagoe, whose title fight with Gusev was the headline bout of the Asamoah Gyan Fight Night series.

“This injury will not affect my chances of commemorating my last bout in Ghana with a big win.

I am just saddened by the fact that the bout wouldn’t come on as promised but I’ll make it up to you with an impressive win on the new date,” he assured his fans.