Akaba stops Malik Jabir in WBC fight

Accra, March 7, GNA - Osmanu Akaba became the new World Boxing Council (WBC) International featherweight champion when he stopped Malik Jabir in the sixth round at the Accra Sports Stadium early Sunday morning.

Italian referee Sergio Silvi stopped the fight after 37 seconds in the round to save Malik from further punishment. The referee told the The Italian said he did not give a full count because he realized that Malik was in grave danger even before the knock down.

Ironically, Malik clutched his groin on the canvas to make fans believe that he was decked by a low punch, but the referee would not be deceived by such gimmicks as he halted proceedings in favour of Akaba. The fight started very fiercely with Malik rushing in with dynamites, but Akaba held his guard high and retreated, looking for openings to connect.

Midway through the round, Akaba found his range and popped his right jabs to the head of Malik with mechanical accuracy and just before the bell, the champion rocked his opponent with a wicked left to the jaw that forced Malik's gum shield onto the canvas.

Malik who had inflicted the only blemish in the record books of Akaba after 14 fights via a sixth round TKO, as a result of a cut on the left eyebrow looked for the big punch in the third and when the champion evaded a thunderous right, the power of the punch dragged Malik to the floor.

When he rose, Akaba chased him round, connecting precise right jabs to his face and squeezing left and right hooks through his guard, making nonsense of the pre fight form guide.

Akaba stunned Malik in the fifth and forced him to spit out his gum shield once again and it became apparent that Malik was not properly conditioned for the fight and might pay the price for complacency, as Akaba gained in confidence and won the support of the crowd with his game performance.

There was no hiding place for Malik when Akaba chased him round and pummeled him with some good combinations and indeed staggered him with a dug-in left hook before the end of the round. The chase continued in the sixth and Malik's wobbling legs caved in on 37 seconds and he could not rise to continue the fight. Malik later apologized to his fans and requested the champion to give him a rematch.

In the other title fight of the night, Ben Odametey became the new national featherweight champion when he defeated Cape Coast based Ali Alabi with a unanimous decision over twelve rounds.

Odametey won on the scorecards of all three judges, 120-107, 119-111, 120 -106 to win the vacant title.

It was the champion who dictated the pace from the first round to the end, with a series of strong punches which forced Ali into the reverse gear for most parts of the fight.

The champion controlled the fight with good left jabs that kept his opponent, whose punches lacked power and precision, under intense pressure throughout the twelve rounds.

In the third round, Odametey opened up the guard of Ali with his jabs before hitting home a right cross that channeled Ali to the canvas for the only knock down of the fight.

Referee Shadrack Acquaye administered the mandatory eight count, but Ali recovered sufficiently to continue hostilities.
Ali who appeared confident throughout the bout surprised the fans with his staying power, as he danced away from punishment and double covered to protect himself from the bombs of Odametey.
Though Ali sometimes penetrated the guard of his opponent, he lacked the punch to cause havoc and appeared to have no destructive instinct to kill off the fight.
The Cape Coast boxer failed to take advantage of his longer reach and allowed Odametey to close in and connect his hefty punches at will. Though Ali was superb with his footwork and his body movement played the bobbing and weaving stances effectively, his hands failed to multiply in action and he lost even good openings due to lack of power punches.
In the latter stages of the fight, Odametey went for the kill with some sturdy punches, but Ali danced out of trouble even though he failed once again to throw many punches on his backward march. Mr Joe Aggrey, deputy Minister for Youth, Education and Sports decorated Odametey with the championship belt amidst cheers from his supporters.
In other bouts of the evening, Philip Kotey had a rough time against Jamiu Tyson from Nigeria, but was lucky to get a draw verdict. Fighting over eight rounds in a welterweight contest, the Nigerian carried the fight to Kotey and kept him busy throughout, as he threw very powerful punches, forcing the Ghanaian to rely on ring craft to survive.
On the Independence Day Rumble Programme put together by the former World Boxing Authority (WBA) welterweight champion, Ike Bazoka Quartey's Jumus Promotions Syndicate, Osmanu Yahaya, the Commonwealth welterweight champion gained a unanimous points decision over Agoe Ashong, the "Odokor Tyson" in a 10 round contest.
The return of Brimah Kamoko, "the Bukom Banku" to ring action was very remarkable as he registered a first round knockout over Olubi Severin from the Republic of Benin in a super middleweight fight. Two female boxers, Ameley Turkson and Gifty de Tiger sold out four rounds of excellent boxing that kept the fans on the edges of their seats.