Male boxers are not superior to their female counterparts according to female bantamweight Rodiat Ibrahim.
Rodiat, one of four female boxers billed for GOtv Boxing Night 19, will fight namesake, Rodiat Yusuf, in a bantamweight duel at the event holding on 21 July at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Lagos.
Speaking during her training session on Sunday, Rodiat said female boxers are rarely given the same sort of encouragement enjoyed by their male counterparts by promoters.
She, therefore, expressed gratitude to the sponsors and promoters of the Boxing Night for their decision to include two female bouts at the will encourage professional female boxers.
“We are in no way inferior to our male counterparts. We are as good as they are. What we have experienced is that promoters are reluctant to have us at shows, based on the assumption that we are inferior. I and other boxers spar with male boxers and we match them. We hope our participation at Boxing Night 19 will prove how good we are,” she said.
In the other female contest, Adedeji Abiodun and Cynthia Ogunsemilore will clash in the featherweight category.
There will be seven other bouts, including the international welterweight challenge between reigning West African Boxing Union (WABU) Rilwan “Babyface” Babatunde of Nigeria and Eden Biki of Ghana.
The lightweight division will feature African Boxing Union (ABU) lightweight champion, Oto “Joeboy” Joseph against Tope “Berinja” Agboola; and Hammed “Ese Hammed” Ganiyu vs current West African Boxing Union (WABU) lightweight champion, Rilwan “Real One” Oladosu.
In the featherweight division, former ABU champion, Waidi “Skoro” Usman, will fight Taiwo “Esepo” Agbaje, while Kazeem “The Light” Oliwo will take on Tope “TP Rock” Musa in national challenge bouts.
Other bouts include “Sugar Boy” Olayiwola vs Waheed “Showmax” Shogbamu; and Adeyemi “Spirit” Adekanla vs Isaac “I Star” Chukwudi.
The best boxer at the event will go home with a cash prize of N1 million alongside the Mojisola Ogunsanya Memorial Trophy.
