It was a night to remember for lovers of boxing as GOtv Boxing Night train moved to Ibadan on Easter Sunday, April 21st for the GOtv Boxing Night 18 held at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium. Tickets sold out one hour before the fight, as the venue was full to the brim. Hundreds of fans trooped in with their friends and families to get a glimpse of boxing and cheer their boxers to victory.
Nigerian boxer, Oto “Joe Boy” Joseph, successfully defended his African Boxing Union (ABU) lightweight title. Joe Boy saw off the feeble challenge of Ghana’s Success “Brave Warrior” Tetteh.
Joe Boy, miles ahead in ability, toyed with the dire Tetteh before knocking him out in the first round. In the other title fight on the night, Ridwan “Scorpion” Oyekola dethroned Taofeek “Taozon” Bisuga as the national super featherweight champion.
Scorpion thrice dropped Bisuga on the canvas in a fight that ended in 46 seconds. In the light middleweight division, Akeem “Dodo” Sadiku knocked out Republic of Benin’s Ekpresso Djamihou in the fourth round of an international challenge duel.
Also on the night, West African Boxing Union welterweight champion, Rilwan “Baby Face” Babatunde, made an impressive return to action, dismissing Ganiyu “Energy” Kolawole in the third round of their duel.
Rising lightweight star, Taiwo “Esepo” Agbaje, knocked out Michael “Holy Mike” Jacobs in the first round of their challenge duel.
The super bantamweight bout between Opeyemi “Sense” Agbaje and Sadiq Adeleke ended in a draw. Jamiyu “Sunshine” Akande defeated fellow debutant Mufutau “Oloke” via a second round knockout, the same outcome as the clash between Isaac “I Star” Chukwudi and Jubril “Terrible” Olalekan, which was won by the former.
Opeyemi “Sense” Adeyemi was voted best boxer at GOtv Boxing Night 18. The winner is awarded the Mojisola Ogunsanya Memorial Trophy to which a cash prize of N1million is attached.
The 19-year old super bantamweight boxer, despite drawing his national challenge bout with Sadiq “Happy Boy” Adeleke, recorded the highest number of votes in the poll carried out by journalists at the event.
According to the show organisers, Flykite Productions, the announcement of his name as the winner of the prize was not made at the venue, as it is customary, following an advice against it by the security personnel on duty at the show.
“Policemen and officials of the private security firm at the event advised against announcing the best boxer immediately after the show because they considered it less than safe to do so. Opeyemi will be presented with his cheque at our Lagos office,” the statement said.
In 2018 at GOtv Boxing NextGen Search 4 held in Abeokuta, Opeyemi emerged best boxer. This was after catching the eyes of boxing coaches at GOtv Boxing NextGen Search 3 in 2017 in Ibadan, where he was deemed a year too young to turn professional, despite excelling at during the sparring sessions for young boxers. He returned the following year and excelled again.
Anthony Nlebem
@AnthonyNlebem
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