Governmnet must give boxing a boost -Raymond Narh

Story by: Samuel Ablordeppey-New York

1998 Gold Medallist in the Common wealth Games Ghanaian

International Boxer Raymond Narh says though the future of Ghana Boxing is

bright and that a lot more must be done to ensure its renaissance and lift high

the flag of Ghana.

He said, though some Ghanaian Boxers are doing well to redeem

the image of Boxing and lifting high the image of Ghana there is the need for

government

to help improve on the sports infrastructure in the country and also provide

the needed incentives and motivation to boxers. Speaking to Samuel Ablordeppey

on the sidelines of the Sixty Six United Nations general Assembly in New York

in the USA, Raymond Narh who turned thirty three recently indicated that Ghana

could win more laurels and uplift her image if government focuses attention on

the profession and gives it a boost. He

said age would not stop him from bringing home a World Boxing Champion (WBC)

title soon.

‘’Since I won a gold medal in the 1998 commonwealth games no

Ghanaian had done that but with the right stuff and education Ghana can win

more titles’’. Raymond said.

He bemoaned at the attention and priority given to football

to the disadvantage of the other sporting disciplines especially boxing and

called for a reverse gear to make boxing more attractive.

‘’Our Boxers need recognition and attention to turn the table

around and also use the sport to attract investment and build the economy, but

if the status quo is maintained then Ghana must forget about winning laurels’’

He said.

Raymond Narh appealed to government to put in place mechanism

that will honour boxing heroes in the country. He advised the sports

authorities to give boxing equal attention and motivation as it’s done to

football.

He noted that he is in America training very hard under the

circumstances to make himself and Ghana proud. He further added that though a

lot of Ghanaian boxers could not survive in the U.S, he believes the U.S of A provides

a solid platform to boxers who want to make a difference.

‘’The system in the U.S is hard thus a lot of Ghanaian boxers

who come to the U.S cannot operate and

later return home but if you want to make it big in boxing then the place to train

and shoot up is America, U.S.A provides a good platform thus the reason I will

say America is he boxing University. I do not want to mention names they know

themselves’’ Narh said.

He explained that he rose to number six in the world, but

after he fought in a continental title and lost he dropped to the number

nineteen but had climbed to the seventeenth position and hopes to continue

climbing till he wins a world title.

He cited Joshua Clottey, Joseph Agbeko and himself as Ghanaian

boxers who are trying hard to keep the image of Ghana on the international

scene aglow. ‘’Ghana is on course as far as Agbeko and Clottey and himself are

concerned, the future is bright and President Mills and his government must

help the boxing profession-it must not be allowed to die’’ Raymond Said.

Raymond Narh urged aspiring boxers to have faith in God and

pray for God’s guidance and direction and not use or believe in the existence

of Juju.

‘’I will bring the WBC title home and be a world champion

before I retire, age will not be a barrier’’. Agbeko said convincingly.