Major and Latest Boxing news in Ghana
Bukom Banku, Ayitey Powers to fight April
The most anticipated fight in the country in recent times is set to come off on April 25 at the Accra Sports Stadium after tough-talking Braimah Kamoko, known in boxing circles as ‘Bukom Banku’, came face to face with Ayitey Powers on Thursday and signed the fight agreement in the presence of fight promoter, Alex Ntiamoah Boakye of Box Office Promotions.
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The signing sets in motion preparation for the super fight.
In the months leading to Thursday’s ceremony at the Accra Stadium, the two popular boxers had taken to various media platforms to dare each other to a fight, with such verbal confrontations sometimes turning petty and downright dirty.
After the two boxers signed the fight contract to commit themselves to the fight, they walked away with GH¢2,000 each as promotional fees.
Mr Boakye expressed his delight at the prospect of staging a crusierweight bout that would easily pass for the biggest fight of the year in the country. After their introduction to the media, officials of Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) and enthusiastic supporters of both camps present, each boxer promised not only to win the bragging rights but also put up a performance that would give fans their money’s worth on April 25.
The ceremony provided yet another stage for both boxers to take verbal jabs at each other in a prize fight which has GH¢40,000 on offer for the winner.
Sideshows which heralded Thursday’s event was a sneak preview of what was to come on the fight night. The grand entry by both boxers into the Media Centre of the stadium amid drumming and singing by their followers was very fascinating and indicative of intense Bukom-style rivalry, which will reach fever pitch when the two boxers step into the ring on April 25.
Powers was the first to emerge, donning an all-white outfit complemented with blonde hair that sits on either side of a clean shaven head. He boasted that he would floor Kamoko in the sixth round and in the process teach him a boxing lesson.
He comes into the fight with a record of 18 wins and 23 losses, having lost his last six bouts.
Powers had barely finished speaking when his opponent suddenly appeared in an all-black attire and sporting his usual clean shaven hair. Surprisingly, Bukom Banku, a typical showman who has also starred in local movies, quietly made his way to a seat offered him.
Bukom Banku, who is undefeated in 26 bouts with 20 knockouts, stirred the atmosphere by predicting a seventh round knockout and further retorting that his opponent was an illiterate who could neither read nor write. It was a jab Powers did not take kindly to.
However, the tense atmosphere was doused after both boxers later shook hands and advised their fans to respect each other and desist from intimidating, taunting and insulting behaviour in the run-up to the fight.