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Boxing News of Tuesday, 1 December 2009

Source: Prince Dornu-Leiku

Charles Adamu for Commonwealth title fight

Ghanaian boxer Charles Adamu AKA The Crusader will face a yet to be named boxer in the UK on December 18 in what will be the Ghanaian’s first fight of the year. Adamu, 16-4, 12Kos, will battle for the vacant Commonwealth Super middleweight title.

It is a crown Adamu once wore but have not had back since losing it to current WBC Super Middleweight champion Carl Froch back in 2004. Jermain Mackey, the incumbent titlist from Bahamas has several times since 2007 pulled out at last minutes in intended bouts with The Crusader. Mackay, known as ‘Chu Chu,’ was billed to fight Adamu again last October 31 but instead took a shot against Canadian Super Middleweight champion Adonis ‘Superman’ Stevenson for the vacant WBC title in Canada. Mackey not only lost by a 5th round technical knock-out, but also incurred the wrath of the Commonwealth Boxing Board who stripped him of the title.

The mandatory challenger Charles Adamu has therefore been put in line for a fight for the vacant title at a rather short notice to the Ghanaian hitman. But Adamu says he is very ready to step into the ring and make Ghana proud. “My philosophy as a boxer is to always train because I must always be ready for any fight. I have been training so I am very ready, motivated and confident. All I need from Ghanaians is their prayers and I assure them that I will bring back the Commonwealth title,” The Crusader says full of buoyancy.

Charles Adamu’s huge self-belief has received the endorsement of his Manager and Promoter Dr. Don Arthur who says the boxer is too good that opponents have consistently ran away from fighting him. Dr. Arthur accuses former Ghanaian boxing chiefs of stalling the career of Adamu by even sometimes undermining the boxer’s quest to gain title fights in the past.

What these people fail to realise, according to Don Arthur, is that the boxer represents a symbol for the entire nation whenever he fights. That is why he sees his role in nurturing Adamu’s boxing career as a social duty, a philanthropic thing to help people. “In Ghana, there are people who try just to bring others down and we know (Ghanaian boxing) officials who in the past went to London and elsewhere to lobby for Charles Adamu fights to be cancelled. But characters like that are just what I stand against. I want to help so that the young ones will not jeopardize their future, help people make something meaningful with their lives,” he said.

Not only will victory rake in the Commonwealth Super Middleweight crown for Charles Adamu, it will also offer the opportunity for bigger fights and potential bids at a world title. The Crusader therefore sees the chance and is keen to grasp it with both fists. “This is the moment I’ve been waiting for and I will not let it pass me by. I am looking forward to the fight and I promise to return from London as a champion,” Charles Adamu pledged. Source: Prince Dornu-Leiku