Ghana’s boxing fraternity has hit back fiercely at the National Sports Authority (NSA) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports, rejecting both the temporary ban on the sport and the planned inauguration of a Normalisation Committee to steer the affairs of the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA).

The Committee for Professional Boxing Stakeholders (CPBS) convened an emergency meeting at The Gym Boxing & Fitness Centre yesterday to deliberate on the crisis. 

Attended by licensees of the GBA — including former board members, retired boxers, coaches, promoters, managers and sections of the media — the gathering underscored the growing discontent within the sport. Although tight-lipped on their next steps, sources told Graphic Sports that the group would release a formal communiqué today.

Their rejection of the NSA’s move was already clear last Saturday when leading figures such as promoter Alex Ntiamoah-Boakye and trainer Ernest Ofori openly declared that government agencies had no authority to dissolve the GBA board or ban boxing. They argued that only Congress, the sport’s highest decision-making body, holds the mandate to make such decisions.

“I think they have overstepped their boundaries; the NSA has no authority to dissolve the GBA board,” Ntiamoah-Boakye said, questioning the wisdom behind the imposition. “Is the new board formed by the NSA made up of superhumans who can prevent fatal boxing accidents in the future?”

Coach Ofori, assistant trainer at the Charles Quartey Boxing Foundation and Secretary of the United Boxing Coaches Association of Ghana, pointed to due process already in place. He recalled that at an emergency Congress in July — attended by NSA boss Yaw Ampofo Ankrah — stakeholders had unanimously agreed on a three-month extension for the outgoing board led by Abraham Kotei Neequaye, with Vice-

President Roger Barnor stepping in as acting head. The extension, which was to run until October 22, was designed to pave the way for an elective Congress.

“These are not normal times,” Ofori said. “We proposed the three-month extension to the NSA boss, but he never got back to us, only to wake up and place a ban on boxing and dissolve the board. There should have been an official communiqué from the NSA, but instead we were kept in the dark, only to see the letter on social media.”

While many within the fraternity have condemned the NSA’s actions, others have called for genuine reforms. US-based promoter and CEO of ACE Power Promotions, Dr Adae Opoku Amoako, said reforms must focus on boxer safety and building corporate confidence.

“As a promoter and manager, I welcome reforms that ensure boxers are healthy to fight and live to fight another day, for without them there’s no boxing,” he said from his US base.

“Also, for someone who has put lots of financial resources into boxing, I welcome any reform that builds public and corporate trust for them to invest in the sport.”

Another leading voice, promoter and former board member John Manfo, insisted that immediate elections were the only way to resolve the impasse. “It’s Ghana boxing without the GBA, which is unfortunate. The only way out of this mess is to call an immediate election. We need a new President with a mandate and full support of the stakeholders,” he said.

“Right now, there is a power vacuum at GBA, which is being exploited by the NSA and the Sports Ministry. We don’t need an autopsy or an IMC to run our elections. If we have our President, then they have no choice but to include the GBA in whatever plans they have for boxing.”

Efforts by Graphic Sports to reach past and current boxers, including former world champions Joshua Clottey and Joseph ‘King Kong’ Agbeko, proved unsuccessful.