The Ghana Boxing Authority says it will petition the president to grant them exemptions to hold boxing fights.

Stakeholders in the boxing fraternity on Wednesday held a meeting to deliberate on how the sport can be wheeled from the shackles of the coronavirus pandemic.

In an interview with www.ghanaweb.com after the meeting, the General Secretary of the GBA, Patrick Johnson disclosed that his outfit will in the coming days write to the government to seek a removal of the ban that prevents them from holding fights.

Johnson says that a comprehensive coronavirus preventive plans which include testing of boxers and fighting behind closed doors has been drawn up by the association and will be sent to the government.

He said fights have been scheduled for September and October and it is important that the sport returns amid strict adherence to the protocols.

“We are going to petition the president. We’ve already put up the guidelines and we believe that if the ban is lifted we’ll able to do something. We will petition the government quickly so that by the time he speaks again, he will consider boxing. The boxers have their skill and if they are not applying then it is a problem. We don’t want them to go back to the streets”.

On some of the decisions taken at the stakeholder meeting, Patrick Johnson explained that the GBA is going to partner with respective gyms and promoters to raise funds for the sport.

He noted that a proposal will be made to the government for support for the sport.

He added that boxing promoters and agents have been urged to ensure that their boxers fight credible opponents.

“We spoke about how promoters and managers are going to get good boxers to enable us to get more sponsorships from corporate institutions. We believe that getting good sponsors depend on selling good products so if the organizations see our products, they will come on board”, he said.

Source:ghanaweb.com