By Felix Kuyinu
Winners have emerged at an amateur grassroot boxing competition held at Surulere Lagos on Sunday.
The winners : Tijani Azeez and Mistura Idowu, were announced as the best boxers and given awards and medals at De Lads Boxing Promotions Grassroots Amateur Boxing Championships held at the Molade Okoya Thomas indoor Sports Hall, Teslim Balogun Stadium.
Azeez claimed N200,000 cash prize as the best boxer in the male category while Idowu received N100,000 as the best female boxer. Both boxers also received trophies for their displays.
Prior to the competition, Idowu, daughter of a boxer in Bariga, Lagos won gold medals at the 2021 National Youth Games and 2022 National Sports Festival held in Kwara and Delta States respectively.
The elated 17-year-old champion said, “I am very happy I won the best boxer award, I was very confident when I was coming here and I was very happy I got to fight tough boxers.
“Boxing makes me feel really good and happy, the boxing ring makes me feel like I am going to a party; I feel good and amazing.”
Azeez, meanwhile, won a runners-up medal at the 2022 National Sports Festival after losing out to Israel Makinde in the final of the men’s 48kg boxing category following a unanimous 5-0 result from all the judges’ scorecards.
