History of Boxing in Nigeria

The story

Where Nigerian boxing began

Boxing is one of the Olympic games that originated from the ancient Greeks many years before Christ (boxing entered the ancient Olympic Games in 688 BC); it is a combat sport that involves two people throwing punches at each other for a predetermined set of time. During this competition, the opponents are expected to wear protective hand gloves as they are supervised by a referee at intervals.

Introduction of the sports of boxing in Nigeria dated back to the early 1940s, according to Ibrahim Satatima, who was a professor in Bayero University in Kano, he said that the sports can be traced back to the 6th and 7th century following the period when Dambe boxing was firstly discovered in Kano, the northern part of the country.

However, the professional boxing activities officially kicked off in Nigeria during the year 1947 following the directions of Billy Moore and Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe (Nigerian nationalist and statesman) who directed the affair of the boxing during the initial stage of establishment.

Champions and heartbreaks

The initially recorded history of boxing as a public spectacle in Nigerian follows the story of Dick Tiger and Hogan Bassey revolving around the 1950s and 1960s, when both became world champions.

Nigerian boxers have been making a tremendous effort in the world of boxing; however, some of their campaigns have ended in frustration and disappointment, while some brought them triumph, such as the fight in the mid 1970s when Jonathan Dele defeated Scotland’s Jim Watt, a future world champion, for the Commonwealth Lightweight Title.

Olympic medals and world champions

On the other hand, Nigerian boxers have made successful efforts that add a remarkable record to the history of boxing in the country such as the silver medal won by Nigeria in boxing through the efforts of Peter Konyegwachie. The award occurred during the summer Olympic in the year 1984, Peter Konyegwachie won Nigeria’s first ever silver medal in the men’s Featherweight 54 - 57 kg category.

The country records lots of achievement in boxing game as they continued to excel in different tournaments which always involve boxers from all states and other associations. Surprisingly too, boxers of Nigerian birth and heritage, Herbie Hide and Henry Akinwande, have both held the World Boxing Organization Heavyweight Title in the past years.

When it comes to boxing professionals, Nigeria’s best-known world champions include

• Dick Tiger - middleweight, 1962-1963 and 1965-1966; light heavyweight, 1966-1968
• Hogan “Kid” Bassey - featherweight, 1957-1959 and
• Samuel Peter - WBC heavyweight, 2008.

Presently, Nigeria has the Amateur Boxing Association which is known to be an Olympic and Commonwealth Games sport in the country. It is a common fixture in most international games that has its own World Championships.