Organisers list 48 bouts as Yucateco Boxing League week 2 begins

The Season Two of the Yucateco Boxing League second week will begin today in Lagos with a record 48 bouts on the fight card.

The season, which Kicked-off on August 11 in Ikeja, moved to Ikorodu as the respective boxing clubs continue their quest for glory in the second week of action.

It is now in the Apongbon area of Lagos, where the 12 boxing clubs are fighting to qualify for the season’s grand prize of N50 million.

In the opening bout of the season’s league, Israel Makinde of Akil Boxing Club made light work of Chukwuebuka Solomon of “Angulo Siete” Boxing Club with an emphatic 5-0 victory in their men’s 51kg bout. It was also a walk in the park for Faruk Oshikoya of Miramontes as he secured a 5-0 win over Gbadeyemi Mayowa of Progreso Boxing Club in the men’s 51kg.

It was, however, a close battle between Moruf Uthman of Francis Aiyegbeni Boxing Club and Mutiu Alajide of Harmony Boxing Club with the latter punching his part to a 5-3 victory in their 51kg bout.

Technical director of the Yucateco Boxing League, Babatunde Laguda, said the outfit is impressed with the discipline and commitment the respective clubs have shown in the first two weeks of action.

Laguda said: “The boxers in their respective clubs have shown that they are truly ready for the new season; our rules within and outside the ring are being adhered to and this has made our job more easier.

“One thing that also excites me is the hunger on the part of the boxers, as every bout has met all expectations in terms of delivery and that is what the fans are out to see.”

Speaking on his expectations, the initiator of the Yucateco Boxing League, Omonlei Yakubu Imadu, said he believes that the league will produce boxers that will win medals for Nigeria at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

He said: “We are not just doing this for the fun of it, but to become the breeding ground for the next generation of boxers in Nigeria. Mark my words, this league will produce world and Olympics champions for Nigeria.”

Imadu, who was recently elected as the president of the Boxing Promoters Association of Nigeria (BPAN), said the league is in line with international standards and the boxers are certified medically fit before they are allowed to step in the ring.