The nation’s best kept secret and world title hopeful Michael Abban will return to the ring at the Zile Events Centre in Accra when he takes on hard hitter Joseph Akai Nettey on December 18.
Abban, 23, is the World Boxing Association (WBA) Africa Superfly weight champion and Commonwealth Silver champion who is currently ranked 15 in the WBO ranking.
As he puts his ranking at stake in this ten rounder against compatriot Nettey who is on a winning streak and has a fight record of 14 bouts three defeats and no draws.
The 23 years old Abban aims to stop Nettey who is a year older than him in the early rounds to prove his worth and mettle.
The young southpaw who domiciles at James Town in Accra is coming into this out with a fight record of 16 professional bouts including ten knockouts and a loss in his rich resume.
He told the daily graphic and graphic sports at his training gym in Accra, the Black Panthers training gym that he is going for the knockout to shoot up in the ranking and earn the right to the world title.
“I know Akai-Nettey very well, I know the stuff he is made of, he is on a winning streak but that ends with me”, the mercurial boxer who stopped South African Yanga Sigqibo in his last bout in August in Accra this year told the graphic sports.
“I am eyeing the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) superflyweight world title against Japanese Ken Shiro Teraji next year and I will leave no stone unturned to achieve that,” the boxer known as the Black Spider stated.
His coach Ebenezer Adjei alias Coach Killer buttress his point “he is very effective and active in training and roaring to go I feel sorry for Joseph Akai Nettey” he stated.
Abban told the daily graphic that he will make minced meat out of Akai Nettey come December 18 at the Zile center in Accra.
Background to the Abban–Nettey showdown
Michael “Black Spider” Abban’s rise through the professional ranks has been nothing short of meteoric.
The 23-year-old southpaw, who fights out of the Black Panthers Boxing Gym in Jamestown, claimed both the WBA Pan African and Commonwealth Silver super flyweight titles on New Year’s Day 2026 at the Best of Bukom 2 event, following the retirement of Tanzanian opponent Muhsin Kizota.
His recent unanimous decision victory over South Africa’s Yanga Sigqibo in Accra not only defended his WBA Africa crown but also secured him mandatory challenger status for the Commonwealth super flyweight title.
Abban has since signed a long-term management and promotional agreement with Landmark Promotions, a deal his management believes will accelerate his path to a world championship.
The boxer’s only professional defeat came early in his career, and he has since reeled off five consecutive victories to improve his record to 15 wins, including 10 knockouts.
His opponent, Joseph Akai Nettey — widely known in boxing circles as “Yussif” — is a former Royal Boxing Organization (RBO) light flyweight world champion and national flyweight titleholder.
Nettey, who is 24, won the RBO world title in December 2021 with a fifth-round stoppage of Prince Boah at the Idrowhyt Centre in Dansoman, Accra.
He is a product of the Charles Quartey Boxing Foundation and made his professional debut in April 2021 at the Bukom Boxing Arena.
The December 18 bout will be Nettey’s first major test against a ranked opponent since his rise through the national and continental ranks.
Despite Nettey’s undefeated-in-recent-years run, Abban’s camp remains confident. “I know Akai-Nettey very well,” Abban said. “He is on a winning streak, but that ends with me.”
Abban’s target, WBO super flyweight world champion Kenshiro “Ken Shiro” Teraji of Japan, is one of the sport’s elite operators.
The 34-year-old Teraji became a three-weight world champion in July 2026 when he won the vacant WBO super flyweight title by unanimous decision against Israel Gonzalez in Tokyo.
Teraji, who previously held world titles at light flyweight and flyweight, boasts a record of 26 wins, 2 losses, and 16 knockouts.
Abban’s trainer, Ebenezer Adjei — popularly known as “Coach Killer” — has built the Black Panthers Gym into one of Accra’s most respected boxing institutions.
The gym, based at the Happy Days School in Jamestown, has produced national team boxers and world champions, including Ghana’s first female world boxing champion, Abigail Quartey.
Coach Adjei’s reputation for developing disciplined, world-class fighters adds further weight to Abban’s world title ambitions.
The Zile Events Centre in Accra will host the December 18 card, with Abban putting his WBO top-15 ranking on the line against a fellow Ghanaian who knows him well.
For “Black Spider,” nothing less than a spectacular knockout will do — both to settle the score with Nettey and to announce his arrival as a genuine world title contender.
“I will make minced meat out of Akai Nettey come December 18 at the Zile center in Accra,” Abban declared.
