Boxer Rues Ignorance Of Rules At Championship

A boxer from Enugu,
Patrick Samuel blamed his semi-final loss at the National Open championship in Lagos on his ignorance of new rules governing the sport.
Samuel disclosed this to newsmen moments after he lost, following a referee’s decision, to Monday Yusuf of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in the 75kg category of the competition.
Although, the bout had ended on a 1-1 draw, the three judges awarded the fight to Yusuf because he was conversant with the new rules.
“I unwittingly committed blunders that made my opponent to have an edge over me.
“Most of the new scoring points are unknown to me; the few that I am aware of are the ones I recently grabbed here at this event, while watching other fights.
“I was ousted early here as a result of my ignorance in the latest rules governing the sport,” he said.
Samuel then condemned his state’s association for the alleged mismanagement of funds meant for their training towards the championships.
According to him, the state boxers at the championships transported themselves to Lagos.
“Five of us representing the state at this competition transported ourselves to Lagos because of the interest we have in the game,’’ he said. Samuel, a semi-finalist at the 18th National Sports Festival (NSF), Eko 2012, said that they were unaware of the new rules even before they left Enugu.
He then appealed to his state government to come to their rescue, saying with government support, he would have made it to the top at the competition.
The Nigeria Boxing Federation (NBF) last week in Lagos, held a three-day workshop to acquaint its boxers and technical officials to the latest rules in the sport.
The AIBA’s10-point latest rules and regulations included the abolition of the headgear,  which the body said were healthy for boxing development.
Other semi-finalists in the 75kg category were Femi Akintayo of Lagos, who beat Rasheed Fatai of Ogun 3-0 and Kazeem Ajiboye from Gombe who TKOed Anthony Anuoluwapo of Anambra.
The male and female championships, organised by the Lagos State Boxing Association (LSBA), and held at the Brai Ayonote Complex, National Stadium, Lagos ended on Saturday.