Azumah Nelson Fight Night: British boxers make merry despite losses
A contingent of British semi-professional boxers showed no ill-effects and made merry despite losing their two Azumah Nelson Fight Night bouts on Saturday night at the Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra.
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The contingent of four semi-professional boxers was full of bluster in the lead up to the bout but they were unable to justify their lofty predictions when the bell tolled for the start of their fights.
However, they were sighted outside their dressing room minutes later with bottles of wine and champagne, downing cans of beer, munching on chicken wings and puffing on cigarettes.
Only two of the British boxers, John "Hitman" Hicks and Anthony "Tony Macaroni" Ayinde of the four advertised made it into the ring for the Ghana versus United Kingdom clashes which took place in front of a predominantly expatriate crowd which included the British High Commissioner, Iain Walker. Britons Keiran "Lights Out" Leinster and Philip Owusu withdrew from their bouts.
Tough-talking Ayinde was the first to make it into the ring and the man who stated that he "had more angles than a protractor" when in the boxing ring was handed a boxing lesson by Raphael King who secured a split decision victory.
In the final fight of the night involving Hicks who had described his opponent Wahab Oluwaseun as robotic and of a lower standard than professional boxers he had sparred with, in the United Kingdom, was left on his backside in the ring in the third round after coming under a barrage of punches.
After the bout had ended and Ghanaian super featherweight champion, Oluwaseun was presented with Azumah Nelson Fight Night Friendship belt, Hicks was seen looking dejected at the entrance of the UK dressing room in the company of his compatriots including Ayinde (sporting a black eye), Keiran Leinster and Nigel Dobson of the British Boxing Federation.
However, his mood lightened after his colleagues convinced him that as a semi-professional against a Ghanaian profession boxer.
The group of five British men later held a mini-party - toasting with wine and beer to their performances, feasting on chicken wings and taking selfies with their fans and sympathisers. They also distributed candy to some children at the venue.
Dobson later told the Graphic Sports that he was impressed with the output of his fighter because for them boxing is not a full-time job like their Ghanaian opponents.