Disagreement Trails Boxers’ selection For Commonwealth Games

Top officials of the Nigeria Boxing Federation (NBF) have disagreed over the method of selection of boxers for the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

While the technical crew, led by Coach Obisia Nwankpa, favour an Open National Championships to serve as trials, the NBF President, Rotimi George-Taylor is not enthusiastic about the trials.

In an interview with newsmen, Nwankpa said that the trials earlier fixed for May 25 in Lagos were shelved after a meeting they held with the president.

He said George-Taylor was in favour of taking the boxers, who attended the Youth Olympics qualifiers in Azerbaijan to the October 3 to October 14 Games in India.

Nwanpka argued that the Commonwealth Games were not an age-grade competition, saying that only experienced boxers with guts and skill should be paraded there.

He said competence should be central to the selection of the fighters, wondering how boxers who failed to impress in the qualifiers in Azerbaijan were expected to do well at the Commonwealth Games.

“When you talk of big competition like this, experience and skill count, and boxing is trying to retrace its step in the international scene so we don’t need to be sentimental,’’ he said. Contacted on phone on whether the May 25 trials would still hold, the NBF president asked to be called back later.