By John Egbokhan.
A former Spokesman of the World Boxing Organisation (Nigeria), Bernie Grant has canvassed for a return to the regional system of boxing development.

Speaking against the backdrop of the Gotv Boxing seminar held recently in Lagos, where former accomplished boxers and coaches brainstormed on the ways to develop the sport, which is now in the throes of death, Grant said it was foolhardy for boxing stakeholders to continue doing things the same way, without the beneficial results.

Noting that the bane of the sport rests in the way things are done, Grant, a respected boxing buff, said that efforts have to be made to return boxing to the great heights it attained in the days of yore.

From left, Jerry Okorodudu and wife, Joe Lasisi, Barrister Kabiru Olagunju and Bernie Grant at the Gotv Boxing Night in Lagos

“My biggest worry with the state of boxing in Nigeria is that we have continued to do the same thing, over and over again without achieving the desired results. I am at a loss as to how our boxing will be in this state. Our problem is that we are not moving with the trend, where emphasis is now on the regional style of development.

“The way out is to start developing the sport from the regions. In the south-south, there should be a concerted effort by all stakeholders there to aggregate the pool of talents they have and run a weekly training programme, which will be followed by a coaching clinic that will now culminate in a monthly or bi-monthly boxing show for the boxers.

“We need to cultivate the coaches and ad-hoc staff, like referees, handlers, doctors, psychologists, physios and other people who work for the good of boxing,Their welfare should be top on our to-do-list, because they are the engines on which we are running on. We should stop the use and dump system.

“If the south-east, south-west, north-east, north-west and north-central also adopt this strategy, we will be fast-tracking the growth and spread of boxing at a rate that our rivals will be envious of our strides.

“There are so many talents in this country, waiting to be explored but the problem is that we are not fishing them out enough and that is because we are not organising periodic competitions in locations that the boxers can easily walk to. Instead, we concentrate on the national level, leaving the regions to languish behind, forgetting that it is from the regions that real boxing can develop from”, added Grant.