Two-time bantamweight world champion Joseph ‘King Kong' Agbeko has observed that amateur boxing witnessed a tremendous growth during the era of late president Jerry John Rawlings.
Agbeko told GhanaWeb’s Joseph Adamafio that never in the country’s history has boxing enjoyed much support as it did under Rawlings.
Taking his turn on Sports Check program, Agbeko attributed Rawlings’s dedication and commitment to the sport to his past life as a former boxer.
He explained that JJ Rawlings understood the intricacies of the sport and its value to the country because he at some point in his life practiced the sport.
“We all know that Rawlings loved boxing more than any president we’ve had. I learnt he was a boxer and I hear he even trained at this place. He was a big fan of boxing. There is a picture of him and Azumah, that picture inspires me a lot and it will inspire a lot of generations. The president and the champion walking on the street with the title. During his time, amateur boxing got massive support so his death was a massive loss to the whole country,” he said.
Agbeko also found fault with the siting of the Bukom Boxing Arena, noting that its current location impedes the growth of the sport.
He submitted that the arena should have been built at a place close to the elite class who would have found it easier to patronize and invest in boxing activities.
He also appealed to government to find ways to lessen the financial burden of promoting bouts in the country.
“If the arena was at a place where most people from the rich area will have easy access it would have done us a lot of good. Wherever the arena was sited, people from Bukom would have gone because they love the sport but the rich people who have the money to invest would have wanted it closer to them.”
He concluded that “It’s a sport that takes a lot people out of the street so they should consider making promotions a bit easier. Government must support the promoters.”
