A renowned boxing
analyst, Trigo Egbegi, has said that a vibrant foundation was needed to mould the country’s amateur boxers into world beaters.
Egbegi told newsmen in Lagos that if the foundation was strong, it would impact positively through creditable performances at international tournaments.
“They need to be exposed, in order to have a good foundation, and that in turn gives them an edge over their counterparts in other countries.
“An amateur boxer should have gone through several local and foreign tournaments, to be adequately prepared for international tournaments.
They must have competed in over 30 tournaments, to familiarize themselves with their opponents,” he said.
Egbegi, who was a former secretary of the Nigeria Boxing Board of Control (NBB of C), noted that the leadership was not aware of the strength of the strength and weaknesses of boxers under them.
They must know whether a team is weak or strong, and as with a weak team, you will know how to work towards improving them.
“Here in Nigeria, the authorities are not aware of the abilities of the boxers; they just pack them in camp and do not work on anything,” Egbegi said.
He stressed the need for intense preparations by the Nigeria Boxing Federation (NBF) towards the improvement of the boxers.
“A solid team with good exposure is all that is needed for the boxers to win in international competitions.
“They need to box with tough boxers from around the world, before they can win medals,” Egbegi said.
The analyst, however, expressed doubts on the country’s chances at the World Boxing Championships in Kazakhstan from October 10 to October 27, as well as the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2016 Olympic Games.