Boxing experts have extolled the gathering of some of the best female pugilists in the country as Yucateco Boxing Promotions, organisers of the first-ever boxing league in Nigeria, staged an all-female boxing invitational championship at its headquarters in Ikorodu, Lagos.
The outstanding female boxers were picked from various boxing clubs who were part of the maiden Yucateco Boxing League concluded in February 2024.
One of the high points of the event was the show of grit between Aishat Gbadamosi and Shakirat Kareem, which was a repeat of their challenge in Ibadan in season one of the Yucateco Boxing League.
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Though she lost to her opponent, Aishat believes the all-female championship has exposed her to a new level in boxing as she dreams of greater opportunities.
“This is a dream come true for me, I learnt a lot from the championship and l hope to continue to improve with subsequent opportunities. I want to say thanks to Yucateco for giving spring to our career,” Aishat gleefully remarked.
Technical Director of the Yucateco Boxing League, Babatunde Laguda, said the initiative was born from the interest in discovering younger female boxers for Nigeria.
“We hope to build on the successes recorded in this edition,” Laguda said.
“We saw some of these girls at the boxing league and we thought it wise to give them a more centred platform to express themselves. We have seen several talented boxers from this event and l must tell you, the future is very bright for these girls”.
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Driven by passion to foster the growth of boxing across gender and age categories in Nigeria, CEO Yucateco Boxing Promotions, Omonlei Yakubu Imadu, said he hopes to encourage more female participation in season 2 of the Yucateco Boxing League which gets underway in the second quarter of 2024.
“What we have done is a qualification championship for these young female pugilists to grab a ticket to compete in season 2 of the Yucateco Boxing League. This event has helped us discover those good enough to compete at the league level in May,” Imadu stated.
Season 2 of the Yucateco Boxing League has been cleared for an international competition with boxers expected from South Africa, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea, Cameroon, Benin Republic, amongst others.
