Nigeria’s Don King, Remi Aboderin, scribe of the Nigeria Boxing Board of Controls has shed more light on the need for boxers education and promotional campaigns as well as weighing the boards responsibilities in boxing bout advocacy for corporate sponsors.
He said, “We really do not have boxers that are well educated, very unfortunate. The likes of Joe Lasisi is presently a member of the board, I don’t know what I need to do. I give it to the World Champ, he has transversed the length and breadth of boxing, he should be a role model. If we are able to talk to him and get him to understand the angle at which we are looking at things, maybe whenever we have an opportunity to go and share this interest with him”
“The board is not a promoter, it only controls the affairs and activities of KO boxing that is the affairs between a boxer and his manager, a boxer and the promoter, boxer and coach, basically that’s what we do and that’s we get money from through licensing of these people’s that have just mentioned, referees, judges”.
“Basically, what we need is not for the board going out for sponsorship but we need the promoters to go get sponsorship. Whenever a promoter needs the help of the board, a kind of letter of introduction, that we can do but we as a board do not go soliciting or seeking sponsorship, that’s the job of the promoter”
“In case that thus happens, maybe one of the boxers we can use for such is Ajagungbade, Bash Ali presently with the ministry and trying to come up with his own guineas world record which I know he’s having but of hiccups, nonetheless I believe all things equal, he will make headway, that’s the issue concerning sponsorship”
“Boxing is totally different from football and in that way, we do not have the main material to go out and seek for sponsorhip. It’s not the board responsibilities but the promoters and others who are in the boxing fraternity” Aboderin explained.
