Former Sports Minister Nii Lante Vanderpuye has shared his belief that Ghana has a greater chance of excelling in boxing than in football, thanks to the recent discovery of promising young talents from the northern regions.
While boxing has long been a celebrated sport in Ghana, with icons like Azumah Nelson and David Kotey hailing mostly from the southern part of the country, Nii Lante emphasized that the rise of northern boxers could significantly enhance the nation’s prospects of competing successfully on the global stage.
“We have the potential to become much more better sports nation through boxing than in football,” he said in an interview with JoySports.
“I was so much into the Boxing League and I saw most of the boxers who were got had all come from the North. Northerners are naturally strong, but it is the knowledge, skill, and technique that they need to adopt.
“When you have somebody who is so much passionate, interested and you transfer knowledge, technique to the person and he gets that to compliment his natural strength, he is super.”
Azumah Nelson, widely regarded as Africa’s greatest boxer, made history by holding the WBC Featherweight title and becoming a two-time Super-featherweight champion.
Alongside him, notable boxers like David Kotey, also known as “D.K. Poison,” and Joseph Agbeko helped elevate Ghana’s global reputation in the sport.
Despite this rich legacy, Ghanaian boxing has declined in recent years, with the country lacking a world champion since Richard Commey’s loss to Teofimo Lopez in 2019. For the first time since 2004, Ghana had no boxing representation at the 2024 Olympics.
Ghanaian football has faced similar struggles, with the Black Stars failing to qualify for the Olympics since 2004. The national team hasn’t claimed a major title since their 1982 Africa Cup of Nations victory and was knocked out in the group stage of the last two tournaments.