President of the West Africa Boxing Union (WABU), Mr. Remi Aboderin, has advised young Nigerian boxers aspiring to turn professional to take advantage of GOtv Boxing NextGen Search 5, as it represents the surest way into the paid ranks.
Aboderin, who is also the Secretary-General of the Nigerian Boxing Board of Control (NBB of C), offered the advice while speaking at the NBB of C Secretariat in Lagos yesterday.
According to the boxing administrator, GOtv Boxing NextGen Search 5, scheduled to hold on 29 and 30 August at the Kwara State Stadium Complex, Ilorin, will provide young boxers around the country the opportunity to be assessed and selected by the country’s best coaches for nurturing and guidance that will elevate their craft. He also stated that boxers selected during the programme will have their professional licences and comprehensive medical examination paid for by the sponsors, GOtv.
“My honest advice to talented boxers between the ages of 18 and 25 is to seize the opportunity offered by this programme. The benefits are numerous. Aside from having the licences and medical examinations paid for by the sponsors, such boxers also stand a good chance of featuring at coming editions of GOtv Boxing Night, which exposes them to promoters around the continent because it is shown live on television across Africa. They cannot ask for more,” he said.
Aboderin commended the sponsors for their continued support for Nigerian boxing, saying without such, the sport would have been in great distress.
“They have funded GOtv Boxing Night, the biggest and most regular boxing event, since 2014 and GOtv Boxing NextGen Search since 2015. The latter has unearthed promising professional boxers such Rilwan “Baby Face” Babatunde, Ridwan “Scorpion” Oyekola, Tope “TP Rock” Musa and Opeyemi “Sense” Adeyemi among others,” he stated.
The WABU President urged eligible boxers to go and pick up registration forms for the programme in designated centres. Forms for participation, which are free, are available at the NBB of C Secretariat and the Lagos Boxing Hall of Fame Gym, both in Lagos; Kwara Stadium Complex, Judges and Referees Office in Ilorin, Akure Township Stadium, Akure and Alake Sports Centre, Abeokuta. The last two editions of the programme held in Abeokuta and Ibadan respectively, while the first two held in Lagos.
