Former Olympian and national boxing coach, Isaac Ikhuoria has said that lack of tournaments in the country is telling on the quality of boxers the country is producing in modern day  amateur boxing.

Ikhuoria made the remark in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), against the backdrop of the just-concluded National Sports Commission (NSC’s) South-South boxing championships in Benin.

Ikhuoria, who won a bronze medal in the middleweight category at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, decried the non-development of the country’s budding boxing talents.

“For a very long time, there was no human capital development there. So what do you expect?”,he queried.
The former coach called for regular competitions and seminars for coaches and athletes, to acquaint them with current trends in amateur boxing.

“So get the coaches together and remind them of what the sport is all about; that it is not fighting; it is not wrestling or Kickboxing; but just boxing. These specific things should be drummed into their psyches, I am sure that you are aware that some boxers slap, rather than box. These are purely technical issues that the coaches should at all times remind the boxers of. There are some of the boxers who, by my own assessment, are not even qualified to wear gloves yet. What they require is for them to get acquainted with the basic skills such as movement, defence and punching.

Once they know these basics, then you can then think of exposing them to competitions in the ring,” he said.

Ikhuoria, who was at the helm when the country excelled at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, and the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, urged stakeholders to close ranks and  revive the sport.