Royal Father Pledges Support For Boxing

The traditional ruler of

Awka in Anambra, Igwe Gibson Nwosu, has pledged to continue to support boxing in the country.

He spoke when he received a delegation of the Goodluck/Sambo Boxing Initiative in Awka recently.

Gibson said he was in boxing promotion in Zambia before the call to become a traditional ruler.

“I was doing fine in Zambia promoting both boxing and wrestling and making champions out of the likes of late Manmountain Kilimanjaro of Zambia.

“Our own late Mike Okpala a.k.a. ‘Power Mike’ was made a champion when I invited him to Zambia and promoted the African Heavyweight Wrestling fight that he eventually won,” he said.

He promised to do his possible best to assist in the smooth take off of the competition because “boxing is my first love”.

The leader of the team, Ikechukwu Okoronkwo, a former amateur lightwelter weight champion, had earlier told the traditional ruler that they needed his support.

“We need your fatherly support and advice to get it right,’’ he said.

“We have the backing of the Presidency to commence the hunt for young lads who are making the wrong use of their God-given talents in kidnapping, armed robbery and other vices.

“We started by merging the South-East and South-South geo-political zones to hold the competition between March 15 and March 19 in Enugu before going to the other zones.”

The delegation included a member of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Mrs Elizabeth Ezeugwu and Ngozika Ekwelum, a former African Heavyweight Champion.