Daniel Selasi Gorsh - the young boxer
Ask children about what they would want to do in future and you are sure to hear them mention professions such as medical doctors, teachers, engineers, lawyers, nurses, among others.
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Very often, most of such children do not have the slightest idea about what the choices they have made entail.
Sometimes, however, there are some children who have no clue the career paths they would want to pursue.
So you can imagine my surprise when a boy of 15 interviewed in Accra recently told me he wanted to be a boxer.
Apparently, he was not just dreaming about the profession, but he had actually started boxing at the age of eight. Daniel Selasi Gorsh holds the Amateur Boxing Championship title in Accra and was in 2014 adjudged the Juvenile Boxer of the Year.
When I sought from Daniel how all this began, he said he took inspiration from his uncle who is a boxer, and added that he “fell in love with the sport because I always accompanied my uncle to the boxing arena and watched him engage in bouts with other boxers.”
Daniel said his interest soared when he got the blessing and encouragement of his parents.
“My parents support me 100 per cent and they have never missed any of my fights. They always encourage me to take my training seriously in order to stand the chance of being selected to join the Black Bombers and represent the country in the Olympics,” he said happily.
Daniel said ever since he started fighting, he had never lost a fight and he intends to maintain that form and record, stressing that losing or even drawing will be a dent on his image.
He said he always made sure he was in good shape before a fight; therefore, he woke up as early as 4:00 a.m. to train and continued after school.
He pointed out that he had now made it part of his routine in order to gain more stamina and new skills.
Daniel, who is a junior high school (JHS) Form Two student and a member of the Junior Graphic Fan Club of the Accra Royal Basic School, Korle Gonnor, said he would not joke with his studies because his immediate plan is to gain admission to the senior high school and subsequently pursue boxing as a profession.
He said although most of the time he gets home tired as a result of training sessions after school, he makes sure he reads something before he finally retires to bed.
According to Mr Jacob Mirekuh, one of Daniel’s teachers and a Patron of the fan club, Daniel is an average student who is serious with his studies.
He said ever since the school got to know that his dream was to become a boxer, they suppor him in so many ways.
According to him, any time Daniel had to train for an upcoming fight, they allowed him to skip classes so that he could prepare for the bout. Afterwards, the teachers assist him to catch up with the other students.
Mr Mirekuh said aside from boxing, Daniel is also good at mathematics.
In an interview with one of Daniel’s classmates, Barack Abdul Kadir, he said apart from attending the same school with Daniel, he and Daniel also lived in the same neighbourhood and pointed out that Daniel is a good boy both in school and at home.
He said being Daniel’s friend has great advantages because he always basks in Daniel’s glory. “A lot of people respect me because I am a friend of the ‘champ,” he said elatedly.
Daniel said his role models are Azumah Nelson and Floyd Mayweather.
