Excitement galore at Graphic Sports McDan Boxing Night
Juvenile, amateur and professional boxers who competed at the maiden Graphic Sports McDan Boxing Night fought away their sorrows with a fine display of ringcraft and punching power last Friday night at Big Ada in the Greater Accra Region in memory of their benefactor and the key organiser of the event, Mr Herbert Nii Kpakpo Allotei-Cofie, which sad event occurred on the day of the event after a sudden illness.
The late boxing promoter and CEO of Allotei-Cofie Promotions has partnered the Graphic Sports with sponsorship from the McDan Group of companies and other corporate bodies to stage the maiden boxing fiesta at Big Ada to herald the Asafotufiami Festival. It formed part of a bigger plan to take boxing to other parts of Ghana to unearth and develop hidden talents in the communities.
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Despite being overcome by emotions, the young boxers vowed to put up a good show in his honour and they indeed rocked Big Ada with its first major boxing event which attracted hundreds of spectators, young and old. It was indeed a night of excitement as Hiplife great, Okyeame Kwame (Ghana’s Rap Doctor), electrified the atmosphere with a 25-minute, high energy performance between the fights.
Even without big named boxers, the juvenile and amateur boxers thrilled the crowd with a fine display of skills, strength, stamina and power.
However, the much-anticipated professional clash between Gabriel ‘Silent Warrior’ Cofie and Daniel Cofie failed to live up to its hype as it became a one-sided affair which ended in the opening round after Daniel suffered an injury and a knockout.
Nonetheless, talented juveniles and amateurs thrilled fans and spectators who on a number of occasions demanded more action during the four-hour event.
Young boxers such as Blessing Lartey and Elisha Mensah threw the crowd into a state of frenzy during their fierce three-rounder, just as the clash between Theophilus Amarkwei and Amadu Mohammed turned out to be one of the most exciting of the night. The crowd yelled for more action after the three-round exchange involving Joseph Commodore and Prince Boah.
The amateur clashes were fierce, including a few moments of comic relief when Rahman Cofie and Gideon Nettey fought. The crowd was thrown into a state of laughter when Cofie ran into a punch which dazed him and threw him through the ropes and fell outside the ring.
After the event, Dr Daniel McKorley, Chairman of the McDan Group of Companies, and a major financier of juvenile boxing, pledged his continued support for the Graphic Sports McDan Boxing Fesitval as a tribute to his friend and late promoter with whom he had begun an initiative to develop the sport in Tamale.
