Ghana’s sole bronze medalist at the Commonwealth Games held at the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, between 4th and 15th April 2018 Jesse Lartey took time to express his appreciation to all those who contributed in diverse ways for him to be awarded the Best Amateur Boxer of the year 2018.
“First I will give thanks to GOD Almighty and also give thanks to my Team (Coaches and Team mates), Ghana Boxing Authority and Ghana Prisons Service for giving me this opportunity and supporting me to win this award (MTN SWAG AWARDS) Best Amateur Boxer of the Year.” He posted on his facebook wall.
Jessie Lartey was the only athlete to have secured a medal for Ghana in last year’s Commonwealth games. He secured third place which guaranteed him a bronze medal in boxing 64kg light welterweight division despite his controversial defeat to Canada’s Thomas Blumenfeld.
The international spotlight was on Gold Coast in 2018 as the city hosted the largest sporting event in Australia in a decade and even though Gold Coast 2018 was a success, that was not the case for team Ghana as the country was bedeviled with visa racketeering allegations.
The only good spotlight was the 26 year old amateur boxer who is currently in the Black Bombers’ camp preparing for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which will begin on Friday 24th July and ends on Sunday 9th August.
The Sports Writers Association of Ghana deemed it fit and proper to acknowledge his sole exploits in lifting mother Ghana up by awarding him the ‘Best Amateur Boxer of the year 2018’ at the 44th (SWAG) Awards Night held on the 11th of May 2019.