Azumah explains Whitaker defeat

Two decades after his clash with stylish boxer Pennell ‘Sweatpea’ whitaker, Azumah nelson has attributed the defeat to the illness of his wife Beatrice Tandoh (now deceased).

The boxing professor challenged Whitaker (Lightweight Champion) for higher laurels after reigning so many years in the featherweight and super featherweight divisions. Azumah however lost in his pursuit for the big challenge on a unanimous point decision.

Speaking on Kojo Frimpong’s ‘Boys-Boys Show’ a few days ago, he said, “I received bad news about my sick wife ahead of the bout. I had a call from home that my wife’s situation was deteriorating.

“It affected me so much. I lost focus, I wasn’t concentrating. I wanted to just enter the ring and come out, so I could rush to my sick wife,” he added.

To the ‘Terrible Terror’ (one of Azumah’s numerous nicknames), Whitaker was not exceptional, but the loss of concentration on the night, cost him the title.

The boxing professor revealed that his wife eventually gave up the ghost but he hinted that he takes solace in a revelation he had just before the wife passed on to eternity, in which he was told she was going to prepare a place for him (Azumah).

Meanwhile, the hall of famer has rubbished claims that linked his source of strength to his mother’s rituals during his fights.

Rather, he noted that he drew so much inspiration from his father, a tailor, who designed most the trunks he wore and gave him most of his nicknames including the ‘Terrible Terror’.

“I didn’t hear any rumor about my mother performing rituals for me to win. If you say my father, yes, he was a great source of inspiration, and when I was fighting, and I saw him at the ringside, I went the extra mile,” the Zoom Zoom said.

A few weeks ago, he launched a book that chronicled his career from his early years of boxing through his 10-year reign as a world beater, his retirement and his new baby, the Azumah Nelson Foundation.

At the launch of the book, the boxer’s godfather former president Jerry Rawlings; businessmen Sam Jonah and Kennedy ‘Cappuccino’ Agyapong, supported the boxer by picking the first three copies of the books for GH¢100,000 per copy.