Australia-based Ghanaian boxing matchmaker and promoter, Nii Korley Collison, has slammed the corner of Ghanaian lightweight title hopeful, Richard Oblitey for his loss at the hands of American Robert Easter Jnr in their recent IBF title bout in Pennsylvania.
Commey lost in a controversial split decision after the American had suffered a knockdown in the eighth round.
Collison said Commey deserved a big commendation for his output in the bout at the Santander Arena in Reading but called for an immediate beef-up of the boxer’s technical team if he wanted to win the world title.
“First of all congratulations to Richard Commey, he is a warrior, and he showed it against Easter. He did very well, surprised us all and I believe with a little more technical help he would have easily won the fight,” Collison said in an exclusive interview from his Australia base.
“I personally believe he lost the fight from his corner. I’m not saying the coach is not good but what happened in round 12 was from his corner, and anytime a boxer makes a mistake you blame the coach, not the boxer.
“This thing should not happen again. Commey is now too big to be handled by Carl Lokko alone, he needs an experienced technical brain to join their team,” Collison emphasised.
He was, however, full of praise for Commey’s UK- based manager, Michael Amoo-Bediako, for the massive work he had put in to shape the boxer into a world class competitor.
“I thank the manager for what he’s doing for the boxer, and he should keep it up. He and his team have done a good job, but they should make some few adjustments next time to bring the title home,” Collison asserted.
“Their timing for going to America was very bad, none of the Ghanaian boxers, who won world titles went to America just a week before the fight. Joshua Clottey even arrived more than two weeks before he fought in Australia two years ago,” he contended.
“Sparring with local boxers under a month to the fight was also not good; some will come in not to help you but to prove a point to their own fans. It doesn’t help, and you can even get injured with no time to recover,” he added.
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