Ghanaian boxer Joseph Agbeko has denied claims by the head of the Ghana Boxing Association Peter Zwennes that he is a fraudulent boxer.
The two-time former bantamweight world champion in a lengthy post debunked the allegations while insisting that he is a separate brand from his promotion company Fresh King Promotions.
Speaking in an exclusive interview on Happy FM, Mr Zwennes revealed that the Ghana boxing Authority didn’t sanction the bout between Agbeko and Kenyan Nick Otieko because Fresh King Promotions failed to comply with the laws which would enable the fight to be sanctioned.
“We never had any fight contract, we never received any purse from Agbeko with regards to the fight with Nick so we decided that there was no point to sanction that bout to deceive the public who will buy the tickets.
“Agbeko for the past four years has been engaging in fraudulent conducts; he doesn’t have money to promote fights and he doesn’t have money to pay boxers but he wants to promote fights. Four years ago, we took money from the Ministry of Youth and Sports to promote a fight and it took him three years to pay that money back to our embarrassment and he even paid back in installment. He even promised to pay the arrears after fighting with Guillermo Rigondeaux after the fight he ran away with the money so that has been his game plan all these years.” Peter Zwennes said.
“The last promotion he had, he didn’t have money to pay the visiting boxer and one Solomon Otu Lartey who funded hotel bills for the boxers, eventually ended up in the boxers purse per an agreement he had with Agbeko’s Fresh King promotions. Ironically, Agbeko turned around after he couldn’t raise the money and went to the police to lodge the false complain that his vehicle had been stolen by that match maker and the match maker got locked up for three days.” The Ghana Boxing Association President disclosed.
But the boxer has come out with a response of his own
Read his full statement below:
Agbeko Denies All Allegations
I, Joseph King Kong Agbeko deny all allegations labelled against me by the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) president. I was supposed to fight 30th June 2017 at the Bukom Boxing Arena. The fight was promoted by Fresh King Entertainment.
Fresh King Entertainment is a boxing promotional company and Joseph Agbeko is a boxer and the face of the company. Joseph Agbeko is a separate entity exclusive of the promotional company.
The fight got cancelled due to a last minute call from GBA. Fresh King Entertainment received a letter from the GBA on the 27th of June to submit all Boxers purses to the GBA before the close of 28th June and the promoters could not meet the demands so GBA officials did not appear at the weigh-in. The cancellation of the bout has brought on numerous accusations against me and the promotional company.
Among all the allegations, the one that caught my attention was the one coming from my own boxing president calling me a fraudulent boxer. How could he say such things about his own boxer? Not just any fighter but a three time world boxing champion. A noble boxer who has raised the flag of Ghana high on numerous occasions. I have made Mr Zwennes proud so many times when he was vice president to Mr Moses Foh Amoaning my godfather who was then the president.
Mr Peter Zwennes as the president of the authority that manages the sport of boxing in Ghana, is someone I respect greatly. Hence I was extremely disappointed by the things he said about me. For president of the Ghana Boxing Authority I think he went too far with those allegations.
Everything Mr Zwennes said does not only kill a career but kills your spirit and your entire business life. Ghana Boxing Authority was established because there are boxers who risk their life every time they step into the ring, so it is our duty as a boxing fraternity to protect the boxers and their image or brand to make the sport more attractive for sponsorships.
The sport itself is struggling due to lack of support from corporate Ghana and Mr. Zwennes' actions will only deteriorate the reality. I've discussed this case with my lawyer and I'm waiting on his advice
Joseph KingKong Agbeko
By Musah Abelyire/ghanaguardian.com
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