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Alex Ntiamoah-Boakye
Alex Ntiamoah-Boakye

Lack of sponsorship is killing boxing - Box Office CEO

The CEO of Box Office Promotions, Alex Ntiamoah-Boakye, says the biggest challenge facing the sport in the country is inadequate sponsorship.

He revealed that it cost in excess of $100,000 to stage a title or championship bout in Ghana, adding that without sponsorship the cost could even skyrocket.

“If you want to stage any serious championship fight in Ghana involving both local and foreign fighters, it is going to cost over $100,000, and this is even with sponsorship,” he told Graphic Sports in an exclusive interview in Accra.

Breaking it down, Mr Ntiamoah-Boakye explained when staging a bout one needs to book a venue which is very costly in Ghana, arrange for a training facility, book hotels and air tickets, including visa fees.

“You also have to pay the ring officials in foreign currency, publicity for the event, pay support staff, pay for lighting system since we don’t have any state-of-the-art indoor facility here and also cater for other unforeseen auxiliaries,” he added.

According to the promoter and match-maker, preparation alone could run in excess of $60,000, with sanctioning fees and boxers’ purse becoming the albatross on the neck of the promoter in his negotiation with the international boxing authorities.

“On the even I can say I have made profit in the sport. I have run into big losses too and I’m still paying some monies now. I have only broken even in some few boxing bouts I have organised,” he lamented.

Mr Ntiamoah-Boakye, who is known for organising some of the nation’s most popular bouts in recent times involving Michael Ayittey ‘Powers’ Okine and Braimah Kamoko, alias Bukom Banku, said unless there was a guaranteed sponsorship from corporate bodies to augment the efforts of promoters, the industry may collapse sooner than later.

He, therefore, called for a serious deliberation on the issue of boxing promotion in Ghana and how to aid promoters in their job if the sport is to keep its local promoters in good standing.

“Until we can have sponsors who are willing to come on board to help the sport and sponsor promotions, it is going to be difficult for local promoters to stage competitive championships and interesting bouts in Ghana.

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