Ghana to honour Agbeko with Grand Medal

Accra, Oct. 16, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Tuesday directed that Joseph Agbeko, Ghana's the new International Boxing Federation (IBF) Bantamweight Champion, should be presented with a state honour, the "Grand Medal".

Additionally, his name is to be added to the Hall of Fame. He said the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports should give the boxer the necessary material support to carry out his boxing exploits.

President Kufuor said by winning a world title in Ghana's Golden Jubilee year, Agbeko had joined the "list of greats." "In a way you are personifying our country - a small nation that punches above its weight", he said, when the IBF Champion presented the title belt to him at the Castle, Osu.

He encouraged the boxer to work harder to annex the other belts in his weight division.

President Kufuor said nations, like individual human beings, tended to have their strong points and Ghana has been singularly blessed with boxing, producing world champions. Agbeko, he said, was contributing in a grand manner to uphold the tradition.

The Champion said the belt was his special present to the country on the occasion of its 50th anniversary of independence. He said the honour done to him by President Kufuor would inspire him to even work harder to achieve more victories in the ring. Mr Moses Foh Amoaning, Chairman of the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA), said he was confident the champion would annex the World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Organisation (WBO) title belts. The GBA, he said, wanted to make history under the President Kufuor administration and that not less than three international titles would be won soon.

Agbeko knocked out Luiz Alberto Perez of Nicaragua in the seventh round to win the IBF belt.