Two Ghanaian fighters will be up for gold medals at the Commonwealth Games when they mount the ring in the final at the NEC Arena in Birmingham on Sunday.
Teenagers Joseph Commey and Abraham Mensah both qualified for the featherweight and bantamweight finals after impressive victories on Saturday while Abdul Wahid Omar settled for the bronze after losing in the semifinals.
Commey, a boxer from the Black Panthers Boxing Gym in Accra, is scheduled to face Ireland’s Jude Gallagher in the final after earning a 4-1 split decision win over touted Indian amateur Hussam Uddin Mohammed in the featherweight semi-finals.
The hard-hitting fighter lost the first round of the bout before fighting back to win the final two.
An ecstatic Commey told BoxingAfrica.com that he was keen on ending Ghana’s 24-year gold medal drought in the Commonwealth Games.
“This is good news for every Ghanaian around the world but I’m not done yet with my aim,” said Commey.
“I’m glad everything is going on as planned and I have to stay focus for the final so that I can win gold for Ghanaians.”
In the bantamweight semis, Mensah defeated Owain Harris-Allan of Wales 3-0 to reach the final. There he will meet Dylan James Eagleson of Northern Ireland.
Mensah, who fights out of the Seconds Out Boxing Gym in Accra, was aggressive from the opening bell and dominated most of the rounds to earn a place in the final.
Reacting to his victory, the 19-year-old said the time was right for him to make history for the nation and he was ready to grab the opportunity.
“This is the time for me to make history and I am ready to grab the opportunity by winning the final,” Mensah told BoxingAfrica.com.
“I can’t leave Birmingham without the gold medal because that was why I came here.”
Ghana has already secured a bronze medal as Omar lost in the semifinals 5-0 toLouis Richamo Collin of Mauritius. Altogether, it has been a strong showing for the country, which now seeks to add two gold medals to their count.
Kwasi Ofori Asare, trainer of the Black Bombers – the Ghana national amateur boxing squad – said he was proud of his boxers for making Ghanaians proud.
He called on the two finalists to give everything to win gold in the final on Sunday.
“I’m a happy man and I can only be proud of these two fighters for making every Ghanaian proud with their performance.
What is left now is for them to give everything in the final to win gold and I believe they will do just that,” Asare told BoxingAfrica.com.
