BOXING FANS HAIL JANTUAH'S HOMECOMING (NSEMPA, BACK PAGE)

By George Ernest Asare, Kumasi.

BOXING fans in Kumasi have welcomed the IBF continental fight between their idol, Kofi Jantuah, and his Russian counterpart, Sergio Rakuluv, at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi on July 26, 2008.
Some of the fans Graphic Nsempa spoke to said the bout would go a long way to resurrect the sport which is dying slowly in the Kumasi metropolis, due to a lack of attention by people at the helm of affairs.
Against the background that Kumasi has not hosted a professional fight for a long time, the fans are eagerly waiting for the July 26 encounter so that they would fill the Stadium in their numbers to offer their unflinching support to Jantuah.
United States-based Jantuah, 34, has a record of 34 wins, 20 of which came by the short route with three losses and a draw.
His last attempt at the IBF Inter-Continental middleweight title with Ruben Diaz, was staged in Spain in November 2007 ended in a draw.
Since he left the shores of Ghana 10 years ago, he had never fought in his native homeland, and his return to the ring at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium would generate keen interest among the youth who see him as their role model.
Sources indicate that Jantuah plans to build a boxing gym in Kumasi to revive the sport and as part of his contribution to entice the youth to boxing.
This is to enable those interested in the sport to develop their potential and build a career out from it.
Speaking to Graphic Nsempa on the forthcoming fight, Mr Moses Boadi who is a businessman, commended Jantuah for agreeing to fight in Kumasi to whip up interest among the youth.
He pointed out that in Ghana, much attention has been given to soccer to the detriment of other sporting disciplines.
He said the failure of sports authorities to actively support the development of other sporting disciplines was not helping the youth to develop their potentials in a more effective and efficient way.
Explaining, Mr Boadi said it was when all the sports disciplines were developed that the youth who had the potential in other areas could be able to develop them to place Ghana in a respectable position when it comes to international competitions.
He pointed out that if the authorities took pains to develop boxing at the basic level just as they did to soccer, a lot of potential would be unearthed.
He said it was, therefore, important for the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) to initiate a programme of whipping up interest in boxing as part of their contribution to develop the sport at the grass roots.
He said it was equally important for the GBA to support Jantuah in diverse ways to enable him realise his dream of winning the fight.
Mr Boadi also called on the media to whip up interest in the fight to ensure that as many boxing fans as possible fill the Baba Yara Sports Stadium to support Jantuah to win the fight convincingly.