Stephen Okai outpoints Moro Tijani

...in West African title fight
Stephen Okai dominated Moro Tijani and deservedly got by a unanimous decision to win the West African super lightweight title when the two boxers met at the Accra Sports Stadium on Saturday. The fight was a one-way traffic, which went in favour of Okai as Tijani appeared scared of battle and back pedalled for most of the 12 rounds, allowing his younger opponent to chase him around, punishing him with some rocket punches.
It was therefore surprising that the judges scored the fight very closely thereby generating a lot of tension among a section of the supporters. Judge J.B. Osabutey made it 115-113 for Okai, Atta Eddie Pappoe scored it 116-116 and Shadrach Acquaye recorded 117-113 in favour of Okai.
The fight, which was supposed to be a dual title fight for the national and West African titles was reduced to a West African championship when the Ghana Boxing Authority (G.B.A.) declared that Lantequaye Hammond, the champion had not relinquished the national title and he had not faulted the rules to warrant being stripped of it.
The first two rounds produced a sterling display of punching power by the two boxers as they bombed and rocked each other with solid shots to the head and midsection. Mid way through the first round, the boxers took refuge in a neutral corner with Tijani lying on the ropes and Okai slugging and trying to dig in. Tijani appeared to be the more refined boxer as he swapped places quickly with his opponent and connected four rapid combinations to the head of Okai.
Okai who prefers to be called 'Ataa Gyata', meaning an old lion, got infuriated and swung a barrage of sturdy left and right combinations and the crowd cheered wildly in approval. The second round was also full of fireworks as each boxer displayed an urge to end the fight by the short route, culminating in thunderous exchanges.
A powerful right from Okai forced Tijani's gum shield drop to the canvas and the referee ordered a momentary halt to allow his corner men to put it back. When hostilities resumed, the boxers stood toe to toe and traded hefty punches and the crowd applauded as the bell went for the end of the round.
From the third round, Okai surged forward and chased his adversary around as he connected some good shots, which stunned Tijani and appeared to have sapped his energy and urgency. There was no doubt from that moment as to the direction the fight was going and it was just a matter of time for Okai to be declared the winner.
Tijani appeared tired and as he beat the retreat, he tried to keep his rival at bay by popping his right hand in jabs, which lacked power and indeed, most of them did not connect. Crowd violence started in the eighth round as rival supporters hurled chairs at each other, causing a commotion at the ringside. It soon died down and the chants and taunts continued from the supporters of Okai.
The penultimate round saw very little action as the two boxers clung persistently in a desperate bid to get breathers. Tijani opened up very strongly in the final round as he engaged Okai in a give and take battle but he soon froze and resorted to the backward ride as the bell went for the end of the fight.
In another title fight on the bill, Sumaila Badu the pride of Fire Service became the new National and West Africa Super flyweight champion when he defeated Asamoah Wilson by a 2-1 split decision. In a fight, which was characterised mainly by fierce exchanges, Wilson and Badu kept spectators on the edges of their seats at the initial stages.
But the former took control in the latter stages of the first round, delivering powerful hooks to the head of his opponent as the bell rang for the end of the first round. In the second and third rounds, Badu attacked aggressively but dropped his guard midway through, allowing Wilson to hit him hard on his body and face.
Badu became game in the fourth round by landing direct punches onto the face of opponent while Wilson also responded with heavy blows to the body of Badu, thereby making this round a balance one. Wilson who seemed to be dominating the fight pushed Badu to the corner for the greater part of round five, punishing him with right and left hooks, which stunned and staggered Badu.
In the seventh and eight rounds Wilson showed a remarkable improvement as he rook the fight to his opponent, looking for a knockout punch. Fortunes changed in favour of Badu from round ten when he opened a cut under the right eye of Wilson during a peak action period in a neutral corner. Badu capitalised on the wound and concentrated his punches there, pummelling his opponent's scared face to draw blood.
Despite the cut and the continuous bleeding on the face of Wilson, he continued with the fight but Badu maintained constant pressure on him. In the last round, which was a display of artistic toe-to-toe power trade, both boxers put in their last efforts, engaging in all hooks, upper cuts and over-head punches as they all seemed determined to carry the day. At the end, judges J.B. Owusu- Ansah, Confident Hiagbe and Bob Sackey scored it 115-113,118-113, and 113-115 respectively, giving Badu a hard win over Wilson.
In other fights of the night put together by Ultimate Promotion and Management Syndicate dubbed "Repeat or Revenge," Anyetei Laryea gained a fifth round technical knockout win over Anyomi Savundra in their eight round bantamweight contest while Alfred Tetteh stopped Aminu Turkson in the second of their eight round catch weight duel.
Abdulai Amidu recorded the second technical knockout on the bill when his Beninois opponent Romet Gilbert gave up in the fifth round of their super featherweight match and Daniel Sackey followed with a first round knock out of Joe Addo in a six round super middleweight fray. James "the Hot Ice" Toney made good his prediction when his opponent from the Republic of Benin failed to report for the fourth round in their international middleweight contest over 10 rounds. Toney is now 13-0 with 12 knockouts.