By Kennedy Dokubo, YeyeNews.com, September 27, 2021
Three world boxing bodies have opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Oleksandr Usyk’s emphatic victory over Anthony Joshua in Saturday’s heavyweight bout at the Tottenham hotspot arena, YeyeNews.com has gathered from unverified reports. Usyk defeated Joshua by a unanimous point decision of 117-112, 116-112, 115-113 to become the new IBA, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion.
A source at the Nigeria Boxing Federation (NBF) told YeyeNews.com reporter that the Federal Ministry of Sports has filed a petition to the world boxing sanctioning bodies to protest Usyk’s victory. In the petition, they accused him of gaining an unfair advantage by engaging in what they called ‘excessive training’ for six months during which time he stayed away from his family.
The Sports Ministry argued that it is “unfair for one party in a fight to abandon his coital duties to his wife and leave his family unattended, and move into a secluded training regime just to win a fight. These are extreme measures. The IBF should not be seen to be rewarding a man who was irresponsible, who abandoned his family. We must maintain a balance between family duties and sporting activities”, part of the petition to the IBF reads.
The petition further stated that “Joshua is a responsible family man, patriotic countryman and have always spend time with family. These great attributes should not be turned to a disadvantage. We all know he is a great boxer and Usyk would not stand a chance if Joshua stopped seeing family and friends and trained for the fight as his opponent did. We therefore call for your thorough investigation of the conduct of Usyk”, the petition concluded.
Officials at the IBF, WBA and WBO confirmed receipt of the petitions to our reporter in an email response: “Yes, we received the petition. We are currently studying it even though we don’t think it has merit. We will make further statements after our legal department might have gone through the petition.”
Meanwhile one of Oleksandr Usyk’s trainers have dismissed the petition as frivolous and insane. “Boxing is about preparation and hard work. Usyk worked hard and it showed in the fight. Besides, did his family complain about being abandoned? Did his wife complain about any deprivation? One man goes about posting photo ops with political leaders while his opponent was busy training, and you want to cry foul. No way”, the trainer wrote.
A source in the Federal Ministry of Sports however told Yeyenews.com that they did not believe that the boxing sanctioning bodies would treat their petition fairly: “We’re also preparing our Plan B, that is to call for a rematch. We are setting up a facility in a remote location in Ogun State where Joshua will train for the rematch. Access will be restricted to everyone except his trainers, other essential staff and some members of the Rainbow League”.
When asked about the Rainbow League, the source disclosed that it is a coalition of the seven most powerful traditional ‘fortifiers’ in Yorubaland: “We will cook Joshua, bathe him, feed him. We are preparing on all fronts”, he added with confidence in his voice.
