How 17-year-old Elijah, others conquered at GOtv Boxing Night 16

• Masebinu Eyes WABU Title
The Indoor Sports Hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, erupted in wild cheers just after the bell signalling the start of the sixth of the 12-round national light heavyweight title bout.

The cheer was for the underdog, Adewale “Masevex” Masebinu, whose brutality over five rounds forced the corner of his opponent and pre-bout favourite, Kabiru “KB Godson” Towolawi, to throw in the towel. That was the scene at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium, venue of GOtv Boxing Night 16, last weekend.

The fans’ exuberance was a feature throughout the duration of the event, which had nine fights, including the West African Boxing Union (WABU) lightweight title bout and an international lightweight challenge contest.

On parade were exciting mix of big-name pairings and a crop of debutants hoping to fight their way into the mind boxing-watching public.

As early as 2pm, boxing fans from different parts of Lagos had formed queues at entrances to the hall itching to see action in the nine bouts scheduled. The fans hunger was understandable, given that the event was making its return to Lagos from Ibadan, where it held in July.

In the headline bout, Nigeria’s Rilwan ‘Real One’ Oladosu of defeated Benjamin Lamptey of Ghana to clinch the West African Boxing Union (WABU) lightweight title.  In the other international bout, reigning African Boxing Union (ABU) lightweight champion, Nigeria’s Otto ‘Joe Boy’ Joseph was superior against Ghana’s, Emmanuel Mensah.

The much-anticipated rematch between Waidi ‘Skoro’ Usman and Chibuzor “T Boy” Obi provided an anti-climax, with the latter suffering defeat by knockout in the second round of a national featherweight challenge bout.

A few debutants had their first moments of professional glory. These were products of GOtv Boxing NextGen Search from the last two editions of the programme. Waheed “Showmax” Shogbamu conquered stage fright to achieve a first-round knockout victory over Azeez “Who Say So” Tijani in a national light welterweight challenge bout.

In the same weight category, Adeyemi “Spirit” Adekanla defeated the more experienced Ganiyu “Energy” Kolawole via a split decision, while 17-year-old Opeyemi “Sense” Elijah, a product of GOtv NextGen Search 4, won the heart of the fans by defeating Sheriff “Oshe” Ogunbanjo in a super bantamweight clash. Aminu “Lucky Boy” Akintayo did the business on Mutiu “Machine” Lawal.

The biggest winner on the night, however, was the little known Taiwo “Esepo” Agbaje, whose explosive encounter against Tope “TP Rock” Musa in a national lightweight challenge got the crowd jumping from start to finish.

For his efforts, Agbaje was voted best boxer on the night, winning the Mojisola Ogunsanya Memorial Trophy and a cash prize of N1.5 million.

Meanwhile, New national light heavyweight boxer, Masebinu, has declared his desire to claim the West African Boxing Union (WABU) title in the division.

The Ekiti-born boxer became the national champion last Sunday at GOtv Boxing Night 16, following his victory, by knockout, over Kabiru “KB Godson” Towolawi.

Masebinu, who avenged his previous defeat to the same opponent, said he was proud of his achievement so far, but his eyes are on the sub-regional title.

“The next step is the WABU title. I’m sure of winning. I knew I was going to defeat Towolawi because I was so really determined for the fight. The same applies to the WABU title. I will continue to train hard and remain focused, ready and able to take on anybody once the opportunity presents itself,” he said.

Masebinu dominated the fight against Towolawi, restricting his opponent to harmless jabs while stinging him at every opportunity.