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First boxing bouts of ‘Corona-era’ cancelled due to lack of testing for boxers

Patrick Johnson.jpeg Patrick Johnson, the General Secretary of the Ghana Boxing Authority

Fri, 27 Nov 2020 Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Boxing fans who were looking forward to the first boxing bouts of the ‘Covid era’ will have to wait a bit longer after the Ghana Boxing Authority kicked against the staging of the bouts on November 29, 2020.

The event dubbed “Kickout Covid-19 Fight Night” was being put together by Box Office Promotions and Ace Power Promotions.

The Bukom Boxing Arena would have served as host for the event but GBA has decided not to sanction it due to non-adherence to the Covid-19 protocols.

Patrick Johnson, the General Secretary of the Ghana Boxing Authority told GhanaWeb that the decision was reached because the boxers did not undergo Covid-19 test.

He said that the promoters have been served with the decision and all parties involved in the organization of the bouts are aware of the GBA’s decision.

“We cancelled the bouts because the boxers have not been tested for Covid-19 and we want to protect ourselves and Ghanaians. We had a meeting yesterday and we took the decision. We are hoping that they get tested so that we can find a suitable date for the bouts”.

Patrick Johnson said that the GBA has written to the National Sports Authority to cater for the testing of the boxers as it did for the Ghana Premier League clubs.

“We have written to the NSA to assist us. Due to the impact of the virus on boxing, it will be difficult for promoters to pay for the tests so we have asked the NSA for support. We have a number of bouts coming up especially in December so we hope they listen to us”.

He said that the GBA will on Monday meet the various boxing promoters to brief them on the need for them to adhere to the preventive measures.

He added that the GBA will not sanction any fight unless it is convinced that the preventive protocols will not be breached.

“We are holding an emergency meeting with the promoters on Monday so that we deliberate on the way forward for the sport and also remind ourselves of the protocols. I want to assure Ghanaians that the GBA won’t risk the lives of anyone by sanctioning a bout that does guarantee the safety and protection of everyone from Covid-19”, he told GhanaWeb.

Source: www.ghanaweb.com