GBA stakeholder meeting for 2020 ended with promising year ahead.
The Ghana Boxing Authority today the 7th of January held a stakeholder meeting with members of all the stakeholder bodies heavily represented. The master of ceremony (MC) for the programme, Mr. Patrick Johnson who doubles also as the secretary general for the GBA, tabled the matter for discussion to set the tone for the meeting.
The meeting recounted the fact that 2019 was a very fruitful season with many Ghanaian boxers improving on their record internationally as they look to getting world title shots. Emmanuel Tagoe 30, 31-1, 15KOs) improved to the number 2, 6 and 9 with the WBO, IBF and WBC respectively. Duke Micah also stopped Luis Roy Suarez Cruz in the eighth round and last December knocked down Janiel Rivera twice to win unanimously. Unfortunately Ghana’s sole world title holder Richard Commey lost his IBF lightweight belt to the Honduran-American Teofimo Lopez Deceber 2019.
The discussion that featured prominently is the Fist of Fury boxing league and government of Ghana funding for boxing. The Ghana Boxing Federation (GBF) which was represented by it’s President Mr. George George Lamptey said “This year the Federation will hold regional and national competitions apart from the Fist of Fury boxing league. These are all in the efforts of raising world champions. This year is going to be a busy year for boxing in Ghana”.
The stakeholders especially the coaches association were largely very appreciative and impressed with the work that has gone into a preparation of the boxing calendar for the year 2020 but demanded that the regulator (GBA and the GBF) be hasty in the disbursement of the funds received from the Ghana National Petroleum Authority (GNPA) to develop the sport so that they can prepare their boxers for the 2020 boxing year.