All is now set for the maiden edition of an all female boxing tournament scheduled to hold at Abuja Continental Hotel,formerly known as Sheraton Hotel,on May 1,2023.
This is part of efforts to promote and showcase the talents of female boxers in Nigeria.
The event tagged “Boxing Meets Comedy”, is being organized by Titan Sports in conjunction with Senema productions.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday in Abuja,a representative of Titan Sports,John Uzo Obi said, “we’ve been looking forward to an opportunity to showcase the talents of these young female boxers,I’ve seen them box at the National Sports Festival,it was so beautiful and when I got the opportunity to do something I decided to start with boxing.
“And people will wonder as a handball National Team Coach,why didn’t you start with handball,there are a lot of lesser sports in Nigeria that people look down on,and mostly female. I went to the stadium to watch the Falcons play ,they won by 4-0 but the stadium was empty.
“ So I felt my own way of contributing to let the government know that females are part of the sports industry is to do something and also create awareness for people to know that sports is also entertainment that is why we put up this event which will bring comedy to meet boxing.”
Six female boxers are expected to compete in three different categories: featherweight, light welterweight and lightweight.
Each bout will be fought over three rounds with a minute rest in between each round.All the female boxers will go through the mandatory pre-fight health checks and are expected to put on their head gears during the fight.
The best fighter on the night will go home with a cash prize of N200,000.
Also speaking at the event, a female boxer Helen Joseph said: “My aim is not the prize because I am not thinking about that now. My aim is to win. Get into the green to fight and shoot my talents for victory. This is not my first of boxing, I have been boxing since 2003.”
On the safety measures put in place, Boxing Coach Olapade Oladoson, noted that adequate preparation has been put in place for protection, he said, “We can’t allow anybody going into the ring without being checked. We don’t want casualties. It is not in our plan to have casualties; so we must make adequate preparations for that.
“The medical team will check them as they are weighing in. We will check them, including their Blood Pressure.Everything about health would be checked.”
On her part the Executive Director Senema Production, Mrs Senami Ohiomokhare, noted that coming from a boxing background,as her father was a Nigerian Air force Boxer, Senema productions chose to stage the boxing event to showcase the beauty, skills and grace associated with females.
The event will parade some of the best comedians in Abuja, led by Bernard Gbadamosi, popularly known as Koboko Master.
