Habib Ahmed will bounce back - Alhaji Tofik
Bernard Neequaye
Sports News
An Executive Member of the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA), Alhaji Muritela Tofik, has blamed Habib Ahmed's defeat to Gilberto Ramirez in last Saturday's WBO Super Middleweight Championship in Texas on poor preparations.
Alhaji Tofik said Ahmed's sixth round knockout to the Mexican must be a lesson to all other world title hopefuls in the country to make sure they remain fit to challenge for such prestigious titles.
The Ghanaian tasted his first professional defeat away from home after he was dominated and out-punched by Ramirez in every round of the bout before his corner stopped the fight in the sixth round.
Ahmed (25-1-1, 17 KO) coming into the fight was unknown to the champion Ramirez (37-0, 25 KO) who was making his title defence in the main event from Corpus Christi, Texas.
In an interview with the Graphic Sports, Alhaji Tofik, explained that Ramirez proved too strong and experienced to the Ghanaian and warned managers to avoid rushing boxers into world title fights without the right preparation.
"It was so clear that the preparation for the fight was very poor because Ramirez outclassed and defeated him easily. This must be a lesson to other Ghanaian boxers who will be challenging for world titles this year.
"He was too dull for the fight and challenging an experienced opponent in Ramirez, you need to be aggressive and strategic which I think was lost throughout the bout," he said.
Ahmed will return home empty handed and hope to have another chance to prove himself at such a bigger stage after missing out to the undefeated Ramirez.
When asked whether Ahmed could come back stronger, Alhaji Tofik, noted that fighting away from home was different and believes the loss will serve as a motivation to make him work harder in the future.