Interim Nigeria Boxing Federation president, Azania Omo-Agege, has warned celebrity fighters Portable and Speed Darlington to prioritise safety ahead of their highly anticipated boxing match scheduled for April 18.
Omo-Agege praised the “Zazuu” crooner for his role in promoting boxing but stressed the need for proper preparation and safety measures.
“First of all, I want to thank Portable for bringing awareness to boxing using his celebrity status. I’ve been so impressed with the way he promotes boxing right from the first fight that he had with (Charles) Okocha,” Omo-Agege told our correspondent.
“But one thing Portable has to understand is that boxing is very different from street fighting and with the things that are happening right now around boxing, it’s good for us to be very careful and not throw caution to the wind.”
The NBF chief expressed concerns about the preparation time for the bout branded “Chaos in the Ring: Battle for Glory,” which is set to take place at the Balmoral Convention Center on Victoria Island, Lagos.
“I want to advise their promoters to please encourage them to train. Personally, I think the two weeks that they want to start fighting is too soon because you don’t know their health status at this time, how fit they are.
“These are artists, I’m not there, but I’m sure they do take alcohol in their system. So they might not be very healthy right now to have that kind of stamina to fight in the ring,” he said.
The boxing administrator emphasised the importance of proper protective gear and the presence of ring doctors and ambulance, making reference to safety concerns following the recent death of former Nigerian boxer Olanrewaju Segun ‘Success’, who died from cardiac arrest during a bout in Ghana.
“I will also advise the promoters to make sure this time around, Portable and Speed Darlington wear headgears. They can’t leave their head bare like what they did with Okocha. That’s completely wrong,” Omo-Agege warned.
“We are lucky nothing happened with Okocha and Portable. But it has been a confined and controlled environment. So, they should wear their headgears and also their mouth guards, just in case of anything. But please, headgear is very important.”
The longstanding animosity between Portable and Speed Darlington escalated when the latter reportedly offered Portable ₦500,000 to perform at his event – an offer the former considered insulting.
Portable has been spotted training in an open-air, makeshift ring in preparation for the fight. The street-pop artist previously defeated Nollywood actor Charles Okocha in a similar celebrity boxing match in December 2023, refusing Okocha’s subsequent calls for a rematch.
