Black Hitters: Ghana’s female boxers to compete in tournament in Poland
The national female boxing team is set to compete at the 14th International Silesian Women’s Boxing Championship in Poland next month.
The national female boxing team is set to compete at the 14th International Silesian Women’s Boxing Championship in Poland next month.
The Black Hitters, as they are nicknamed, will travel to the Polish city of Gliwice in September to pit their wits against over 200 other female fighters from other countries.
Among the categories to be contested are junior (15-16 years), youth (17-18 years) and elite (19+ years).
The 1st Vice-President of the Ghana Boxing Federation (GBF), Dauda Fuseni, believes the tournament is a step in the right direction after years of neglect of female boxing.
“We have for years ignored the females but we are reviving all levels because by the next Olympic and Commonwealth Games, we want to make sure we have many female boxers competing unlike the only one we had in Tokyo and Birmingham, which were even firsts,” he said, as quoted by Citi Sports.
“We are focused on entrenching boxing’s position as Ghana’s number sport as everybody saw at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
“We must make sure Ghana sweeps the medals in boxing, both men and women when we host the Africa Games next year. Competitions like this will give our girls needed exposure and tournament experience.”
The Black Hitters will use the boxing tournament in Poland as preparation ahead of the 2023 Africa Games, which will be hosted in Accra.
Meanwhile, Ghana’s 2020 Olympic Bronze Medalist, Samuel Takyi, defeated Nigeria’s Samuel Moses at the weekend in Lagos.
In just his second bout outside Ghana, Takyi made a statement by coasting to a first-round win against his opponent.
The 21-year-old made a great start to the fight and after sizing up Moses, landed the killer punch to send the Nigerian to the canvass.
Takyi, who is coached by Ghanaian boxing legend Ike Bazooka Quartey, has now won all three of his professional fights.
