Sports
Boxers Hail Saturday Boxing Show
Some Lagos State boxers have expressed their satisfaction with the consistency of the monthly “Saturday Boxing Show’’, praising Olawale Edun for promoting the show.
The boxers told newsmen in separate interviews in Lagos that the show had provided them opportunities of showing their potential.
The boxers, who were reacting ahead of the 32nd edition of the competition, canvassed the extension of the show to other parts of the country, to enhance the discovery of more talents.
The event would hold tomorrow at the Mobolaji Johnson Sports Centre, Yaba.
A60 kg boxer with Paramount Boxing Club, Yaba, Joseph Otto, said he was impressed with the sustenance of the monthly event.
He said also that the competition had provided a platform on which he could demonstrate his skills to be in competition shape.
“Most of the annual competitions crumble but this is the first-ever monthly programme which had run for more than 30 months without seizing, I commend Edun for the sustenance,” he said.
A 56 kg boxer, Eniola Korede of the Progressive Club, Mushin, said the competition had given him opportunity to challenge some boxers whom he was afraid of in the past.
Korede applauded the value which the monthly competition, sponsored by the former Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, has given to boxing.
He urged other enthusiasts to emulate Edun’s gesture by sponsoring competitions in other sports, to ensure their development.
Ayisat Oriyomi, a 54 kg boxer of Blessed Club, Abule-Egba, commended the donation of equipment and kits to boxers featuring in the show, describing the gesture as ‘good motivation’.
She said the show was a good avenue to discover female boxers, to be groomed into future champions.
“The competition has given female boxers the opportunity to fight and develop their talents.
“Also, boxers who participate in the competition are given kits, gloves, food and transport fare, every month,” Oriyomi said.
Makinwa Folorunso, a 45 kg boxer of the Sky Power Club, Epe, said he was discovered in the competition, and that since then, he had fallen in love with the sport.
Folorunso advised that the show be extended to boxers in distant areas like Epe, Ikorodu, Igbogbo-Bayeku, Badagry and environs, for more talents to be discovered.
The “Saturday Boxing Show,’’ initiated in July 2010, is being organised by the Lagos State Amateur Boxing Association, and promoted by Edun’s Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame.
In a statement released by the league, the competition is scheduled to take place from Friday, June 5 to Sunday, June 14, 2026, with six clubs set to battle for the league title at the end of the 2025/26 season.
NWFL Chief Operating Officer, Modupe Shabi, said the choice of Port Harcourt reflects the Rivers State Government’s continued support for women’s football and its successful hosting of the league’s Annual General Assembly last year.
The Super Six tournament will feature the top three teams from Group A and Group B of the regular season competing in a round-robin format, with each club playing five matches over nine days.
Qualified teams for the competition include defending champions Bayelsa Queens, Edo Queens, Rivers Angels, Robo Queens, Nasarawa Amazons, and debutants Abia Angels.
The NWFL Premiership has produced four different winners in the last five editions, with Rivers Angels winning in 2021, Bayelsa Queens claiming the title in 2022 and 2025, Delta Queens triumphing in 2023, and Edo Queens emerging champions in 2024.
The league also urged participating clubs to comply with all competition regulations and directives ahead of the championship. The Super Six will determine Nigeria’s representative for the WAFU-B qualifiers for a place at the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League and ultimately the 2027 FIFA Women’s Champions Cup.
Teams are expected to arrive on Friday, June 5, when the draw ceremony and pre-match meeting will also take place. Matchdays are scheduled for June 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14, with rest days in between before the tournament concludes with the trophy presentation ceremony.
