While I watched the ‘Jamestown Fight Night’ at the Bukom Boxing Arena last Saturday, one bout stole the show with a thrilling encounter.

It was a bout I least expected to steal the show on the night but Michael Decardi Nelson,alias Mayweather, and Moses Adjei Sovereign put up a bantamweight masterclass to the excitement of many fans at the Bukom Boxing Arena.

In the end, the bout ended in a draw which to me was a fair result considering the kind of work put in by both fighters on the night.

However, Sovereign felt he should have been declared winner against Decardi Nelson with the latter’s camp feeling same.

It was an interesting event to see two young fighters giving off their best to earn bragging rights.

“I won the fight but I have to respect the judges decision,” said Sovereign.“There is no way Mayweather can beat me because I’m more experienced.

“I brought him into boxing and I will beat him on any day. I prepared very well for the fight and I never expected anything extraordinary from him.”

Talks of an immediate rematch came to mind and Sovereign addressed it. He said he will need something extraordinary to offer Decardi Nelson a rematch.

“I will always be willing to offer him a rematch but not for a mere contest. There should be a motivation for me to fight him again and a belt could only offer me that,” Sovereign told Graphic Sports.

Prospects

Their performance gave the urge to enquire about their young careers and I managed to get to talk to Sovereign.

While he was marking his debut professional fight, Decardi Nelson was fighting for the third time with two previous knockout wins.

I gathered that the bout was a grudge fight that has taken over the entire Ga Mashie township with bragging rights at stake.

“I thought my son boxing but decided to take him to the Sea View Boxing Club when I decided to quit training fighters,” said Ibrahim Afotey Sovereign, father of the young boxer.

“His trainer involved me in this fight because of the intensity so I decided to come with him into the ring. I felt we needed to earn the bragging rights so I took my son through most of his preparations,” he told Graphic Sports.

Sovereign’s career started at age 7 when his father took him to engage in a local fight. It was a usual neighbourhood bout between brave youngsters and that was where his talent was annexed.

The 18-year-old soon became a regular at their usual local fights together with Decardi Nelson. It was at that point that he took his now nemesis to the Discipline Boxing Club in Accra to be polished.

“We all used to fight in a neighbourhood contest so I met Mayweather and took him to the Discipline Gym to learn boxing.

“That was where he started learning boxing so I gave him the little stardom he is enjoying today. He is too proud and I am ready to cut him to size,” Sovereign noted.

Joining Sea View Club

Sovereign moved to the Sea View Boxing Club at age nine to train under renowned coach Gabriel Allotey, alias Zico.

The young fighter continues to pay homage to his trainer for the tremendous impact he has had on his career aside the countless financial assistance he enjoys from him.

To Sovereign, the biggest reward from him to his coach would be winning the world title at a certain stage in his career.

“I have the biggest ambition of becoming a world champion in the future and I know I can only achieve that through constant training.

“That is the only reward to my trainer and the Sea View Boxing Club for all the support and assistance all these years.

That is the only way to pay him back for all that he has done for me,” Sovereign explained.

Trainer Zico expects Sovereign to get even better over the years and believes his young fighter can reach his full potential if he will remain disciplined throughout his career.

He wants his young boxer to concentrate on working tirelessly in the gym in order to achieve his world title aspirations in the future.

“He is very respectful and hardworking young man with a lot of potential for the future,” Zico told Graphic Sports.

“I am glad that at this stage he knows what I have done for him but I am rather looking at the future because that is where we want to get to.

“The world championship is what we are targeting and at the end I believe with the right training he get add his name to the country’s rich boxing history.”