After almost three hours of waiting for the champion, Sackey finally entered the auditorium, with his fans chanting his name as if to announce his readiness to retain his title.

Gyatabi told the gathering that, “I know the strategy I will adopt for tomorrow (tonight). I am a man of few words but I entreat everyone to come early so that they can witness a total fight. I will surely win”.

In response, Sackey also said: “I will teach him a lesson for him to know that in boxing there are seniors. He always says there is no senior. My fans are here because they know what I can do and how I do it; everyone will witness a good fight tomorrow.”

The bout, dubbed: “The Battle of the Undefeated”, promises to be full of fireworks as both boxers made the 122 pounds weight limit — Sackey weighed 119 pounds, while Gyatabi weighed 121 pounds.

Sackey (22-0-1, 19 KOs) is 12th in the latest WBO rankings and would look forward to winning the fight to improve his rating, while Wasiru (11-0, 9 KOs) would also relish the opportunity to become an African champion tonight.

Mr Ellis Quashigah, co-owner of E& J Promotions, promoters of the fight, as well as managers of Wasiru, said: “The reason why E&J is promoting this particular bout is that we want to capture the title from the champion and Team Wasiru looks forward to winning a world title.”

Evans Bernie Johnson, manager of Sackey, also used the opportunity to thank the promoters, adding that: “I am very happy that my boxer is defending the title here in Ghana; other than that we would have probably gone outside to fight”.