An experienced boxing trainer, Carl Lokko, has welcomed the invitation of the United Kingdom (UK) based Ghanaian heavyweight boxer, Seth Gyimah, aka Freezy Macbones to join the national team, the Black Bombers.
Speaking with the Times Sports on Wednesday, Coach Lokko described the move as a positive one to strengthen the team and promote healthy competition among the boxers, but was also quick to call for fairness in the selection process.
The boxer is joining the team on the invitation of the Ghana Boxing Federation (GBF), working closely with the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS) and the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC), an official of the GBF confirmed yesterday.
He is expected to join the Black Bombers to prepare for the upcoming Olympics boxing qualifiers to be held in Dakar, Senegal on September 9-15.
According to Coach Lokko, “the invitation is a good thing. It’s a sign that the GBF will open its doors to all boxers provided they put in the performance required to win medals for the nation.”
“We’re not surprised he has caught the attention of the selectors. He seems to be on a good track judging by the videos of his fights on social media. Nobody can ignore that performance when you see such talents and you are faced with raising a formidable team for Olympic qualifiers.”
Coach Lokko, who doubles as Head Coach of the Bronx Boxing gym in Accra, however indicated that the process of integration must be fair in order not to leave any boxer hard done by.
“Much as we try to assemble the best, the GBF and other agencies involved must ensure that he justify himself and not hand-picked because he is based in the UK.”
“I am sure there may be other boxers also training hard to earn the ticket to contest for the Olympic slot. It is the reason the technical handlers must tread with caution for all boxers to feel fairly treated,” he said.
He said “Freezy Macbones is a Ghanaian and qualifies to be in the team but at the end of the day, his position in the team must be justified.”
BY ANDREW NORTEY
