Ghana will be represented by three boxers in the Africa Youth Boxing Championships in Conakry, Guinea.
Dornu’s Corner reported the three boxers carrying Ghana’s flag in the Africa Youth event are flyweight Mathias Ashitey, light-middleweight Desmond Pappoe and light-flyweight George Dawuona.
They were all part of the six-member Black Rockets team at the IBA World Youth Championships in Montenegro last year
Authoritative sources from Conakry told boxersworld.co.ke the tournament, due to have started on May 16, is likely to be attended by a spoonful of participants.
“We held a brief meeting yesterday, it’s likely even the R&Js courses might be affected because of few participants,” said the source.
The tournament is being held under the auspices of the IBA-recognised African Boxing Confederation (AFBC) led by Ethiopian businessman Eyassu Berhanu.
There’s been scant information so far on the countries which have confirmed participation.
The tournament comes at a time when there is a big rift in Africa’s amateur boxing now being led by two presidents, Eyassu Berhanu and DR Congo’s General Ferdinand Ilunga Luyoyo whose group passed a vote of no confidence in Berhanu’s office during the 2024 Africa Championships in Kinshasa, DR Congo. Luyoyo’s faction accused Berhanu’s office of high handedness and incompetence, accusations vehemently denied by Berhanu’s regime.
Ring analysts attribute the low attendance in Guinea to the big rift in Africa boxing with countries aligned to the Luyoyo faction unlikely to be in Guinea.
Leadership squabbles have for a long time been the bane of Africa’s boxing progress with the warring factions showing more appetite on positions instead of focusing on the welfare of the boxers.
It is hoped that the International Boxing Association will eventually find a lasting solution to the time-wasting squabbles which have contributed a great deal to the stagnation of boxing in Africa.
As the Africans continue stabbing each other, continents such as Europe, Asia and the Americas have made great strides in boxing development with a variety of competitions in their calendar of events.
