Lagos boxers talk tough

HE Lagos State contingent to London for the Invitational Boxing Tournament against boxers from the London Boxing Association (LBA) has arrived at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, Lancaster Gate, venue of the competition.

The eight boxers travelled aboard a 10am Virgin Atlantic flight from Lagos yesterday, and will be engaging their London counterparts in different weight categories.

National Champion in the 64kg weight category, Olaide Fijabi, promised that nothing but total victory will be accepted for the commitment of the Lagos State Government and the Lagos Boxing Hall of Fame (LBHF), to the development of boxing in the country in recent times.

He said: “We are battle-ready. This is what we do for a living so competitions of this magnitude are not new to us. We will give it our best shot and expect to get a good result,” he said.

But for multi-talented Taiwo Agbaje, it will be just another opportunity to garner more support for boxing in Nigeria.

He said he intends to remain focused and ensure he wins his bout so as to enhance the team’s chances of winning overall.

Another boxer, Gabriel Francis who impressed in the last National Open Boxing Championship in Lagos, in the 91kg weight category, was full of praise for Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), for providing him the international exposure. “I am grateful to the governor of Lagos and the Chairman of the Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame, Mr. Olawale Edun for the support and encouragement.

“We promise not to disappoint them by putting up a good performance against the London boys. They are not new to us, we had met in Lagos several times and so this will not be an exception. We have trained hard enough to emerge victorious,” he said.

The competition is organised by the LBA and it’s from October 21- 27 this year starting with the formalities.

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