Charles Tetteh of Panix Gym and the Charles Quartey Boxing Foundation (CQBF) have been presented with a Renault Kwid saloon car each by Renault Ghana (Premium Motors) as their prizes for emerging Overall Best Boxer and the Best Gym for the maiden De-Luxy Professional Boxing League.
Tetteh won the National Featherweight Championship belt with a unanimous points victory against John Quaye on the last fight night last month after which he was named the best boxer for the entire league staged by the Ghana Boxing Authority and Imax Promotions, an affiliate of the Imax Media Group.
At the end of the 20-week championship, CABF finished on top of the 12-gym league table with 48 points ahead of second-placed Panix Gym (43 points) and Sonia Gym (39 points).
At last Tuesday’s ceremony in Accra, the CEO of Renault Ghana, Jihad Hijazi, expressed his company’s satisfaction with the organisation and quality of performances witnessed during the competition and pledged his outfit’s continued support for the development of boxing.
Extended Renault partnership
He promised that following the success of the maiden De-Luxy Boxing League at the Bukom Boxing Arena, Renault Ghana was happy to partner with the organisers as a sponsor for the second season of the competition this year.
The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mutapha Ussif; the Director of Operations at the Jubilee House, Lord Commey; Abraham Kotei Neequaye, GBA President; Maxwell Tachie, Chairman of the Imax Media Group; and Fadi Fattal, a director of the Imax Media Group, among other dignitaries
Following the success of the maiden De-Luxy Boxing League, the GBA boss said he was in talks with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Imax Promotions, and other potential sponsors on the possibility of extending the league beyond the national capital to other parts of the country to unearth more talents and further develop the sport.
Lack of investment
Mr Commey, also a boxing enthusiast who hails from Bukom, lamented the lack of investment in boxing, which he said had given Ghana more international laurels than football which continued to enjoy the lion’s share of investment by the state and the private sector.
He challenged the minister to ensure a lot more state resources were directed to boxing which had produced over 10 world champions and put Ghana on the world map better than any other sport since David Kotei (D.K) Poison became the first Ghanaian boxer to win a world title nearly five decades ago.
The minister said the government was committed to the development of boxing and lauded the success of the De-Luxy League, which was a good example of the importance of corporate sponsorship to the growth of sports.
He charged other sporting federations to design and reposition their products in order to attract investment from corporate bodies in the manner the GBA had done with the boxing league.
Source: Graphic Online