Bombers to host Benin

After a successful negotiation between the Ghana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) and Nestle Ghana Limited, a thriller dubbed the "Nescafe International Boxing Show" will take place at the Accra Stadium on Friday evening.

The event, to be sponsored by Nestle, producers of Nescafe, is set to generate tremendous excitement that will make the competition one of amateur boxing's best shows and help revive what used to be an annual bi-lateral competition. Apart from Friday's episode, Nestle has been very consistent in their support for the Bombers since the beginning of their training for the August competition.

The contest will be the Bombers, first international test since they began preparations for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games in Manchester, less than two months away.

And as part of GABA's strategy for the Friday's confrontation against Benin, the Bombers were hurriedly moved to a secret residential camp to ensure adequate training for the squad.

Preparations for the Bombers in the past few months have been tremendous despite the initial problems the GABA experienced before selecting a substantive team for the country.

Since the new Bombers were assembled earlier in the year, they have engaged in a series of local bouts to sharpen their skills for the crucial task ahead of them. This, no doubt, forced the squad into a month's residential camping at the Winneba Sports College.

The Bombers are scheduled to match the Beninois in all the weight categories on Friday. But whether they can get an easy run over their Francophone opponents remains to be seen.

The visiting 23-man contingent made up of 11 boxers and 12 officials are expected in Accra tomorrow with the cream of their squad stuck to their quest for supremacy over the Bombers on Friday. The visitors are believed to be preparing feverishly to give the Bombers a good opposition.

The return encounter, which is expected to take place by the end of this month, will however, depend on the outcome of Friday evening's event.

This will also be followed by another international friendly contest between Togo and Cote d'Ivoire to step up their campaign for the games.

Meanwhile, the GABA is expected to release the official list of the nation's Commonwealth Games representatives in boxing after the Ghana-Benin competition.