President Nana Akufo-Addo has promised he would look into the lingering case of the State possibly owing David Kotei, Ghana’s first World Champion.
“I’m making no promises but we’ll look into it,” promised the President, today, when he met with a delegation of former World Champions, led by author, Ekow Asmah, whose book, GHANA BOXING: Celebration of Our Champions was endorsed by the President’s esteemed signature.
The former World Champions, D. K. Poison, International Hall of Fame Azumah Nelson, Ike Quartey and Joseph Agbeko took turns to receive from His Excellency copies of the historic book, with his best wishes.
Earlier in the course of the delegation’s courtesy call ahead of the launch, Thursday, at the Bukom Sports Emporium, D. K. Poison decried the failure of the State, over the years, to reimburse him $45, 000 of his $75, 000 purse in his second defence of his world featherweight title against Shig Fukuyama, in Tokyo, in 1976.
That $45, 000, stated D. K. Poison, was used to import mackerel into the country during the reign of the late Head of State, Gen. Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, an emergency measure aimed at restoring calm in the face of mounting tensions owed to economic hardships faced by his compatriots.
Kotei recounted failed attempts during past administrations of Presidency to reimburse him the aforementioned amount, to which President Nana Addo charged the Sports Minister, Isaac Asiamah, to reconcile the paper trail of the claim with Kotei’s former counsel and current president of the Ghana Boxing Authority, Peter Zwennes, to get to the bottom of the case.
President Nana Addo recognized the hallowed place of boxing in raising the profile of the country, having produced 10 World Champions the book seeks to celebrate and immortalize.
He commended the author on his work in preserving the exploits of the immortals of the sport, inspiring other professionals for similar work in the future.
Other members of the delegation were Roger Barnor, a WBC Referee/Judge, and Herbert Mensah, President of Ghana Rugby, the facilitator of the occasion.
Source: myjoyonline.com
Samuel A. Boakye-Buckman (popularly known as Dada Oliseh) is a self-motivated young journalist with a passion for telling stories better with pictures. He is the founder, owner, editor and bankroller of www.ghanasoccernews.org as well as this website, www.totalsportsgh.com. Dada Oliseh is again the brain behind the Dada Oliseh Photos brand that produces awesome pictures of all sporting activities, nature, and other occasions.
He has a vast experience in the reporting of sports in Ghana especially football-related activities in Ghana and beyond. A former employee of Hearts News (official mouthpiece of Accra Hearts of Oak), 90 minutes sports paper, National Sports Authority, Footballcrusader.com, sportscrusader.com, and ghanafootballnews.com, Samuel is one of the few energetic and self-motivated young journalist in Ghana with a large following on social media, especially Facebook (https://web.facebook.com/boakye.buckman.9). He is well known for his frequent updates from all over the country with pictures to match. He is also a correspondent for a few international websites, including CAF. In recent times, he has introduced, as part of his many talents, the live streaming of matches and football-related activities. He lives in Accra Ghana.