Agbeko to be ready for the gym in six weeks time

Accra, May 2, GNA - Joseph Agbeko, International Boxing Federation (IBF) Bantamweight Champion, will return to the ring in six weeks time to prepare for the proposed unification bout against Abner Marez of Mexico in July, this year.

Agbeko was scheduled to take on the Mexican on April 23, but the organizers had to call off the fight after the Ghanaian was declared unfit six days ahead of the fight when he suffered from sudden onset sciatica on his way from New York to Loss Angeles for the fight. According to medical doctors in the United States, the boxer collapsed whilst on his way to Los Angeles, but Agbeko said he felt tired after getting off the plane and never lost consciousness, having endured three hours of flight delay and six hours of flight. Addressing the press in Accra on Monday, Agbeko said he has been given six weeks to rest and is strictly following the directives of the doctors in order to regain total fitness.

Narrating the incident, the boxer said whilst on his way to board a car after his arrival in Los Angeles, he lost balance as a result of a little slip and fell.

According to the boxer, he was rushed to the hospital as he could not get back on his feet alone and needed the assistance of people around him.

On the fight, Agbeko said the fight will be rescheduled for July or early August and he is keenly looking forward to mount the ring again to achieve his dream of unifying all the titles in the Bantamweight division.

Agbeko said "even though I feel better now and could even enter the ring tomorrow, I have to go by the directives of the doctors who treated me".

The boxer, however, expressed disappointment at the circumstances that led to the cancellation of the fight.

"It was the biggest disappointment in my career because I really prepared for the fight and was eager to give Ghanaians something to cheer about.

"It was a moment I have always looked up to only to be denied the opportunity by some strange circumstances". Agbeko stated. The IBF champion said even though he could have gone ahead with the fight after some medications, he was advised against it because he could test positive for banned substances contained in some of the pain relievers he took at the hospital.

Onset Sciatica is a severe pain down the lower back into the leg. It is caused by inflammation or irritation of the sciatic nerve, the longest and largest nerve in the body.