Ghanaians love boxing more than football – Agbeko

Former IBF world boxing champion Joseph ‘King Kong’ Agbeko has said Ghanaians love boxing more than football, discrediting a long-held assertion that football is the passion of the nation.

Many have argued that Ghanaians are passionate about football, especially when the national team is involved in a continental showpiece or playing on the world stage, but according to the boxer, the Ghanaian passion for boxing outweighs that of football.

In his view, the culture of staying up at dawn to watch bouts is a clear indication of the interest Ghanaians have in boxing.

Speaking on Entertainment Capital on Accra100.5FM on Saturday, 24 June 2017, the boxer said: “Ghanaians love boxing more than football.”

He explained to show host Bismark Boachie (DJ Premier) that: “Football is a sport that everybody can do… You can get up any Saturday and go and play. People enjoy it. But boxing is a tough sport and when you look at football, although people watch football all the time, when there is a bout, even in America at dawn, Ghanaians will stay up to watch those fights. That shows that Ghanaians love boxing.

“When people watch football at 6:00pm and stay up to watch boxing at 3:00am, that shows that they have the passion for boxing than football.”

To this end, he called on government and corporate Ghana to help promote boxing by constructing ultra-modern gyms across the country to train talents in the sport.

Agbeko returns to the ring on 30th June to fight Kenya’s Nick Otieno at the Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra.