Boxer, Joseph Agbeko
One Olympic boxer chosen for Commonwealth Games
Theophilus Allotey dropped from call-ups
One female boxer to compete at Commonwealth Games
Former world champion, Joseph King Kong Agbeko, has blamed the Ghana Boxing Federation (GBF) for trying to influence selection of the national armature boxing team for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham next month.
The GBF named 9 boxers which included 8 male boxers and 1 female boxer to represent Ghana for the tournament which commences from July 28 to August 8.
According to Agbeko, the GBF used unfair ways to drop Theophilus Allotey from the national team despite winning gold in the qualifiers to select boxers for the Black Bombers.
The former IBF Bantamweight champion believes Allotey’s inclusion in the team could win a medal for Ghana at the tournament.
“These things [interference in team selection] must stop in this modern era and I believe we need to reward hard work as a country to eliminate such practices. Theophilus Allotey has worked hard to win gold at the individual championship, so how do you overlook him for someone else? This is not right and must be reversed,” Agbeko told Graphic Sports.
He added, “I have watched this boxer train and I believe he is one of Ghana’s surest bets to win a medal in Birmingham if we allow him to compete.”
Yaw Addo was reportedly chosen over Allotey by the nine-member Black Bombers team for the games because of his experience, according to sources close to the GBF.
FNOQ