By Williams Ukadike

FORMER Commonwealth and WBA light heavyweight boxing Champion, Peter Oboh has offered useful tips on how Nigeria could produce boxing champi- ons that according to him could uplift the country to greater heights than oil.

Speaking recently in Lagos, Oboh said if proper attention is paid to boxing as a sport, it will become a money spinner that can attract world class investors and investments that will in turn impact posi- tively on Nigeria and Nigerians.

Oboh noted that the only way to pro- duce champions is through training and organising competitions with a view to exposing boxers for confidence building which the boxers need very much to win.

Related News

Saying that to be successful in boxing one has to remain focused and being ex- posed to their competitors as boxing, all over the world, remains the highest paying sport.

He condemned the idea of investing in final training before the competition which was the main reason Nigeria failed to win a medal in the last Olympics. “Nigeria did not win any medal not be- cause we lacked good boxers and coach- es but because the boxers we took to the Olympics were not exposed to competition before they jetted out.”

Recounting the benefits of boxing, he said that in the United Kingdom, govern- ment is pumping money into sports to make the streets safe. The youths could use their energy to box rather than to engage in criminal activities. He pointed out that mike Tyson could have become a criminal but boxing rescued him admonishing that we must not neglect boxing.

As to funding, he revealed that in box- ing you do not need massive stadia. He said that 60% of success depends on the individual (boxer) while 40% depends on the coach. In football, he stated, the coach makes the player but in boxing the coach assists the individual.