Accra, Aug. 27, GNA - Ghana's Lee Manuel Osei on Saturday morning became the new African Boxing Union heavyweight champion when he won a split points decision against Adewale Abe of Nigeria at the Azumah Nelson Sports Complex in Accra.
Judge Adon Bette of Benin scored the fight 119-109, while Tony Lexon of Nigeria made it 112-116 and Ghana's Ataa Eddie Pappoe scored it 120-110 in favour of Osei.
The fight, which started slowly, gathered momentum from the third round when Osei stunned his opponent with a powerful right on the retreat.
The punch appeared to hurt Adewale as he charged and pursued Osei round the ring looking for a killer punch. But even on the retreat, Osei threw more punches and assumed control of the fight.
By the fourth round, the Ghanaian was in the driving seat, connecting left and right combinations to the mid section and head of Adewale even though it was the game Nigerian who was pressing. The trend of the fight changed in the eighth round when Osei came out smoking and hammered Adewale with a barrage of powerful punches that pushed the Nigerian into the reverse gear for the first time in the fight.
Osei responded to the drums from the stands with body movements that corresponded with the rhythm of the music and his antics confused the Nigerian who became an easy target and the fight only lasted because of his durability.
The next three rounds produced rollicking action from both fighters but it was Osei who had the edge, bombing Adewale in the body and face and shattering the hope of the Nigerian.
In the final round, both boxers appeared rejuvenated and charged at each other, making the round a ferocious one that kept fans on the edges of their seats.
Osei appeared to tire in the closing seconds and Adewale thrust forward looking for the big punch, which he couldn't get till the final bell.
Prince Adeboye, the Nigerian vice president of the ABU presented the belt to Osei with the help of Barimah Professor Azumah Nelson, former World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight and super featherweight champion.
In other fights of the night, Yakubu Amidu stopped Smith Odoom in the fifth round to annex the national super featherweight title.
After four rounds of sporadic exchanges, Odoom failed to report for the fifth round.
Ayittey Powers stopped Flash Ibole Issaka in the fourth round in their super middleweight fight scheduled for 12 rounds, while Kpapko Allotey gained a unanimous points verdict against Kwame Archer in an eight round lightweight contest.
Isaac Quarter received the nod of the judges via a 2-1 split decision over Mohammed Sampando in a featherweight duel, and Emmanuel Lartey won a unanimous points decision against James Lamptey in a super lightweight six rounder. 27 Aug. 05
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