Following a massive hype for the IBO Lightweight World championship bout between Ghana’s Emmanuel ‘Game Boy’ Tagoe and Argentine Fernando David Saucedo, the former extended his unbeaten run to 28 after stopping the South American by the tenth round at the Bukom Boxing Arena on Saturday.
Here are the five things AshesGyamera.com learned from the fight:
Tagoe is not a finished product
The face of Baby Jet Promotion’s popular appeal appears to have bounds If many earlier thought otherwise. Tagoe doesn’t look convincing enough currently, as he wants Ghanaians to believe in his hunt to claim a world title.
He must also start facing other highly-rated boxers out of his comfort zone (Ghana) not Tanzania’s Allan Kamote and the likes in order to build up a proper stamina and heavy punches which can send opponents out of any bout prematurely.
Ghanaians don’t expect such ‘mediocre’ fights again
Ghanaians will never forgive Asamoah Gyan’s Baby Jet Promotion if they continue to arrange such a mediocre of a bout in the future.
Not to mince words, majority of the people who opted not to retire to their beds, including this writer, were highly disappointed with the opponent selected and the bout the two boxers sold.
There was no determination or whatsoever from both boxers and Tagoe even showed glimpses that he is rusty, after more than a year without a fight.
Also, everything pointed to the fact that Suendo came for the payday as he is gradually fading out of the system.
There were also too many antics from Tagoe and that brought back memories of former Bantamweight boxer Abraham Kweku Jafar, popularly known as Adanko deka, who despite his potentials, couldn’t reach the height Ghanaians expected because he chose comedy within the ring than finishing off an opponent at a crucial moment.
Tagoe is lucky to have a rich promoter like Gyan who also has the connections to push him up so he should make a hay now…
Banor can be a worse referee than Fifa’s enemy Joseph Lamptey
Referee Roger Banor was one of the main reasons why the bout flopped. Many Ghanaian boxers, including the legendary Azumah Nelson, have complained in the past about poor officiating when they crossed the boarders of Ghana.
However, they will agree with this writer that, they have not seen a worse officiating like what Banor displayed at the Bukom Arena on Saturday in the last decade. Banor’s sense of judgment was poor and irritating, to say the least. Although, Saucedo was found of complaining, one must critically analyse reasons behind his actions.
Tagoe, on several occasions, hit the occiput of his opponent and even wrestled him to the canvas twice and should have been warned from the onset as well as ducked a point on the second occasion.
He even invaded the bench of Saucedo during one of the breaks to warn him which was unprofessional.
How Banor even ended the bout in the tenth round was shocking than Joseph Lamptey’s tactics to help football teams and betting syndicates to win games which landed him a lifetime ban from Fifa. Everyone within the arena were stunned and that completed the joke of the night.
Accra loves boxing
Thousands of fans – including celebrities like Azumah Nelson, Shatta Wale, Randy Abbey made time of their busy schedule to catch a glimpse of the bout which had a fair hype.
Although, the bout was as boring as watching an Indian movie without a subtitle, they still sat down throughout the ten rounds with some vociferous ones singing and dancing to throw away some of their sorrows in life. Some could’ve left the hall before referee Banor disgraced himself, especially, looking at how the first three rounds went.
Gyan must invest in other boxers
Following the performance by Tagoe, Asamoah Gyan must invest more in other amateur boxers around who have the potentials to make Ghana loud and proud. He should not solely concentrate on Tagoe because that can be suicidal since his ‘meter may be met’ very soon looking at his current performance.
After providing everything for Tagoe, Gyan must create competition for him by bringing in other good boxers to compete for his attention and support. Tagoe feels satisfied and probably believes he has arrived.
When there are other equally good boxers under the same umbrella making it big like Tagoe, he will be hungrier for more successes and move out of his shells. He needs to improve in all aspects of his fights to realise his dreams else, he can be rushed to the top but will not survive.