AAG: Ghana impresses in boxing

Algiers, July 13, GNA - Ghana's Black Bombers bombed their way to two victories on the opening day of the Boxing Championship at the 9th All Africa Games in Algiers late Thursday night. The Ghanaians, who are under the tutelage of Cuban coach, Roberto Ibanez Chavez won two of their three fights in sensational fashion to make a strong case for medals.

Manyo Plange laundered and hoisted a sparkling Ghanaian flag with an easy 28-9 victory over his Nigerian opponent, Dada Jamil in the 48kg category.


The Ghanaian was so dominant that every body present at the fight venue applauded him at the end of four rounds of action, leaving no doubt about where the result would go.


The mobility and attacking skills of the Ghanaian were so refined that one wondered if it was the same Plange who was in the ring against his bigger Nigerian foe, while he remained very conscious of his defensive mechanism that made him rather elusive and invisible to his opponent. Ghana had another remarkable win in the 64kg class when Moses Dormenyo, who had beaten the scales by three kilograms since arriving in Algiers and was drilled to shed the excess weight came from behind the get a 15-14 verdict against his Togolese opponent.


Dormenyo trailed his aggressive foe from the first round and by the third it appeared all wrapped up for the Togolese, who had widened his lead by as many as eight points.


Then there was an explosion from the Ghanaian. As if possessed by the ancestral spirits of Mother Ghana, Dormenyo assumed full control of the fight as he pummelled his opponent with a barrage of blows that tilted the scale in his favour.


An elated coach Chavez praised Dormenyo for his recovery, saying, 'he did not want to lose, he didn't give up, he wanted to win and he won; that is good attitude.'

The coach however blamed Samuel Kotey for not fighting well in his loss to his Ugandan opponent.


He described Kotey as 'not serious, did not fight well,' adding that his opponent was not extraordinary but had a better attitude. Kotey was the only blemish on the Ghanaian performance as he allowed the Ugandan to ran away with a 14-12 verdict in a fight that was not at all difficult for the Ghanaian.


Ghana's next fights involve Fred Lawson who will slug it out with an opponent from Guinea in the 57kg weight division , while Awusoni Yekini meet a Cameroonian opponent on the same bill. It will be the turn of Issa Samir on Saturday when he takes on Cameroon's champion in the 54kg class.


Coach Chavez and his assistant, Ofori Asare are confident the boxing team would not disappoint.


Ghana won only a bronze at the 8th All Africa Games held in Abuja, Nigeria in 2003.