The Minor Champions

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Greetings once again from Kumasi. I was missing this place, it so much more pleasant than Accra. I will be here for a few days doing some follow-up work with clients. Just me and two students this time, my "All-Stars" so I'm looking forward to working with them again.

Last night in Accra I took in a series of boxing matches at this outdoor ring they had put up on the court where I've played basketball in the city. The visual alone was great, an open-air boxing ring with scaffolding and flood lights, loud city noises beyond the wall, and few hundred people and tv cameras watching intently. Of course my mind wandered to Ali-Foreman and the rumble in the jungle, even if this was not world-class fighters.

The bouts were a series of title fights for smaller belts like the national heavyweight title, and various African Boxing Union weight classes. Me and my friend Prince sat behind a group of old men, who I think are the best people to watch boxing with, scowling, talking strategy and throwing punches into the air to emphasize their point. They spent most of one fight cursing their friend, a fighter in the heavyweight bout that looked like he didn't want to be in the ring, a constant wide-eyed look on his face and a tendency to shake and lean away from the other fighter. Can't blame him too much though, the other guy was a beast, full of muscle, not the toned kind that says "1,000 pushups a day and 2 hours of jump rope," but the softball-sized shoulders and thick chest that says "I may have been an ox in a past life." This fighter also had a small army of friends dressed in identical outfits, green, red and black outfits shining but allowing movement like a physical-education disco, banging on sticks and drums and chanting the whole time. He lost in what I would call TKO by Entourage.

This was also the same night a Ghanaian fought in New York for a world title. Ghana has a small but strong boxing history,and I'm told most the fighters come from a single gym in a single neighborhood in Accra, somewhere near the coast. I've never been a boxing fan, but I'd definitely recommend going to see it live if you can, it is night and day from watching on TV. The night was capped with a great moment, watching the entire section get up and start to point and lean towards the ring between fights. I looked up and saw Azuma Nelson, Ghana's greatest boxer ever (and maybe most accomplished athlete) being interviewed by GTV. The old men in my section stopped punching the air for a few minutes and just watched in reverence, telling me how even today, 50-year-old Azuma could do some damage in the ring.

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Comments

[dad]

Sounds like a great night....The manny trade was all the buzz on the jobsite courtesy of ray the electrician. You can imagine! Green or red sauce for you????