Sports
Scorpion Eyes N1m Best Boxer Prize
National Super Featherweight champion and knockout specialist, Ridwan “Scorpion” Oyekola, declared his intention to claim the N1million cash prize for the best boxer at GOtv Boxing Night 20 holding on Saturday, at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos. The prize is attached to the Mojisola Ogunsanya Memorial Trophy for the best boxer.
Scorpion, who is billed to face Sikiru “Omo Iya Eleja” Shogbesan, a corps member, in a challenge duel, said he intends to announce his qualities to the whole of Africa through the fight and walk away with cash prize. Scoprion, who won the prize at GOtv Boxing Night 15 and emerged runner-up at GOtv Boxing 13, said he is confident of winning again.
“I won it once and came second once. This time, I’m sure of winning. I have prepared well and Shogbesan will be in trouble. I know he is a graduate, who is participating in the national youth service programme, but boxing is not big grammar. On Saturday, he’d realise this,” Scorpion said.
The bout is one of the nine scheduled for the event, which will be headlined by the World Boxing Federation (WBF) Intercontinental heavyweight title fight between Onoriode “Godzilla” Ehwariemi of Nigeria and Ariel “Chiquito” Baracamonte of Argentina.
Three other title fights are slated for the night. They are the West African Boxing Union (WABU) lightweight title bout between defending champion, Nigeria’s Rilwan “Real One” Oladosu, and Erick Quarm of Ghana; the WABU welterweight title bout between the reigning champion, Nigeria’s Rilwan “Baby Face” Babatunde and Ghana’s Sanitor Agbenyo; and a national bantamweight title bout between Sadiq Adeleke and Opeyemi “Sense” Adeyemi.
In other fights, Taiwo “Esepo” Agbaje will take on Olusegun Moses in a national featherweight challenge bout, with reigning national light heavyweight champion, Adewale “Masevex” Masebinu, taking on Olanrewaju Segun in a challenge duel. Alaba “Eylbow” Omotola and Bolaji “Fight to Finish” Abdullahi will go head-to-head in a national lightweight challenge, while Cynthia “Omo Bobby” Ogunsemilore will face Aminat Yekini in an all-female national super featherweight challenge bout.
The event will also feature live musical performances from “Bolanle” crooner, Zlatan; “Up to something” singer, Mayorkun, and “Mercy of the Lord” performer, Oritsefemi.
The best boxer at the show will win a cash prize of N1million alongside the Mojisola Ogunsanya Memorial Trophy.
England captain Harry Kane netted a hat-trick to guide Bayern Munich to an impressive victory against Stuttgart.
Kane’s goals, plus one from Kingsley Coman, helped Bayern end a three-game winless run in all competitions.
They faced a tough task against a Stuttgart side who sat back and limited their chances, leading Vincent Kompany’s side to enter the break frustrated and with the deadlock unbroken.
Bayern eventually found a way past Stuttgart’s steely defence when Kane drilled a low effort into the bottom corner from around 30 yards out after Joshua Kimmich overturned possession.
Former Nigeria goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph, is full of thanks to God after he miraculously survived another life-threatening automobile accident recent at Kara, along the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way, where a heavy-duty truck ran into his SUV.
Narrating his ordeal, the 51-year-old, who guided Nigeria to gold in the Men’s Football Tournament of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, broke the news in a statement on his social media handles on Friday.
“To God be the glory, another death escaped by Grace and Mercy of God. Me and my friend SM were at Enyo Filling Station after Ojodu Berger bus stop to get fuel on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, around 6 p.m. when this MACK truck fully loaded with iron, with registration number LND 470 XX, left the road and crushed my car beyond repairs. Thank God for life,” he stated.
This is the second time the soft-spoken club proprietor will cheat death by a whisker, having been involved in an accident in 1997 that ended his career at 23 and left his spinal cord in bad shape.
He helped Julius Berger win the Nigeria FA Cup in November 1997 shortly a memorable Olympic outing by keeping a clean sheet in the finals against Katsina United. The following year, he was involved in the auto along Ikorodu Road, Lagos, which not only cut his career short but also left him almost paralysed, ending his spell at Serie A club Reggiana.
The former Nigeria international, who also kept goal for Julius Berger FC, said the case has been reported to Isheri Police Station, Ogun State, where the driver is currently detained and the truck also seized.
According to him, the owner of the truck said he can’t fix the badly damaged SUV until after a year.
Ex – Super Eagles of Nigeria, Okwuchukwu Waobikeze has observed that sports development in Nigeria is going down.
According to him, grassroots sports is very important, without it, the administrators cannot get it right. So everybody should key into grassroots sports development, he said.
Waobikeze said this last Wednesday in an interview with sports journalists shortly after the Port Harcourt All Stars Independence football festival (OCTOBERFEST) at the Port Harcourt club, Rivers State.
He explained that for sports administrators to get it right, grassroots development is key. “They should be organising competition at the grassroots level to fish out the young ones for different sporting activities.
“Grassroots sports is very important so the administrators have to go back to the grassroots.
” Sports Development in Nigeria is going down we need to go back to the basics.
“Look at the just concluded Paris Olympics, Nigeria did not win any medal.
” Our football team did not even qualify for the Olympics. We are going down.
” If they should go back to the grassroots, they will get young ones in the games and talents will be developed.
” I started from school games, to youth games before playing for the national team. Now everybody wants to fly board to play professional football and a lot do not know the basics of the game.
” A lot of people did not know the little things about the game, they just want to play. It is not done so,” Waobikeze stated.
Kiadum Edookor