The Enugu Boxing
Head Coach, Ude Blaise, has commended the Lagos authorities for the level of exposure they have generated for their boxers, urging other states to do likewise.
Blaise told Tidesports in Lagos that the recent challenge contest the Lagos boxers went for in the U.K. would continue to sharpen their competitive edge.
It would be recalled that seven male and one female boxer from the welterweight to light heavyweight category recently participated in an international challenge contest October 22 in London.
“There is no doubt that these amateur boxers will come back better boxers than before, fighting in a different arena and with the state of the art facilities.
“What athletes need is constant exposure of this, to make them more enterprising,” Blaise said.
The coach commended the Lagos Boxing Hall of Fame for their foresight in using the monthly boxing competition to raise the standards of the sport in the state.
He said there was no alternative to what the state was doing, at enhancing profile of the sport.
According to him, boxing had gone into a near state of extinction in most states, making it difficult for boxers to be groomed in such areas.
Blaise appealed to other state governments, especially Enugu, to emulate the good practice of helping the boxers to grow.
He stressed that the unimpressive performance of the country’s representatives in international competitions in recent times, could be traced to inadequate international exposure.
The Enugu boxing coach cited the recently concluded World Boxing championship in Kazakhstan, as an example of inadequate exposure to requisite competitions that would have improved their lot.
“Inadequate exposure negatively affected the team; that is the reason for their poor outing,” he said.