The disappointment of having his scheduled shot at the Commonwealth title cancelled at the last minute will not deter boxer Charles Adamu. The Ghanaian Super middleweight contender was billed for the Commonwealth belt in a fight last month in Bahamas but Jermain Mackay, the holder chickened out at the last minute with no explanations. “Nothing will stop me to realise my dream as a boxer. Other boxers have pulled out of fights against me before but I won’t lose my focus. What I will do is to keep training and I know my chance will come,” the man called The Crusader said in an interview.
True, the former Commonwealth champion has had a torrid time since losing the title to now world champion Carl Froch in 2004. Finding opponents to fight in the first place has been a big problem meaning The Crusader’s chances of gaining in on the rankings and in prime spot for title fights have been scant, to say the least. A chance for the WBC International super middleweight title was lost to Otis Grant by unanimous points decision in Montreal, Canada on June 18, 2005. The only other opportunity at a title shot came on September 13 last year in South Africa where the lack of adequate preparation and time deprived him of winning the vacant African Boxing Union (ABU) belt against Isaac Chilemba. The endless problem of not getting enough chances to fight on the big stage is no news, many an aspiring boxer from this country has often made a similar grievance. Charles Adamu puts the blame for lack of fights for Ghanaian boxers squarely in the fists of Ghanaian boxing authorities. The Crusader says Ghanaian boxing chiefs have the mandate by office to seek and promote international contests for the country’s boxers.
But it is the one duty they have failed at, miserably, the hefty boxer reckons. “The GBA have the power to write to all these international boxing bodies that we have good boxers here ready for title fights but they will not do it. They only know how to give excuses when we push them to the wall. I don’t know but the authorities are not helping boxing in this country because there are no regular promotion of fights, no facilities, no coaches. It is a case of survival of the fittest,” charged Adamu.
It is the same apparent lackadaisical attitude of officials of the GBA for which Charles Adamu puts the blame for the loss of his Commonwealth Super Middle Weight to Carl Froch. According to the boxer, he had just two months notice, which is very short, to prepare for the defence of the title or risk being stripped as champion. He pleaded with then GBA capo Moses Foh Amoaning to convince the Commonwelath boxing authorities on the need for the fight to be postponed but Mr. Foh Amoaning will have none of it.
The astute boxing commentator-turned-administrator told the boxer that the Commonwealth will make no changes to the fight date once it was already fixed. This, Charles Adamu claims, can hardly be true since fights have always been postponed for one reason or another, many of Adamu’s own opponents a case in reference. In the end, The Crusader had no choice than to make the fight without much preparation and he duly lost.
It is one thing Charles Adamu will never forgive Moses Foh Amoaning for but the fighter is not dwelling on the past as far as his career is concerned. He remains focused and looking forward to a promised fight next month, in the place of last month’s cancelled contest. “I am always training and ready because as a boxer, you train and wait for a fight opportunity. You can’t wait to get a fight before you start training. No I am always training and ever ready whenever the opportunity arises,” Adamu said.
The boxer though thinks there’s a lot Ghanaians can do to also help revive the flagging fortunes of the fistic sport. He has appealed to individuals and corporate entities to rally support behind professional boxing in Ghana. “Boxing is poor because not many people pay attention to the sport. What we need is for more sponsors to come and support professional boxing so that we could get more promotions for more fights otherwise we shall rot. Regular coaching courses must also be instituted to teach our coaches on latest techniques because I tell you the coach is very important to a boxer,” The Crusader has appealed. In the instance that boxing garners the much-needed support and sponsorships, Charles Adamu has a candid pledge to all potential investors in professional boxing in this country. “Some of us have good potential but without fighting we will get nowhere. So we are pleading for every Ghanaian to come and help and we promise Ghana is going to have more world champions like Joseph Agbeko, it is a promise,” The Crusader has heralded.
