Ghana’s former Boxing Authority president, Samir Captan, has pledged wide-ranging reforms to revive the sport, following his appointment as chairman of a new Interim Management Committee (IMC).
The nine-member body was inaugurated by the Ministry of Sports and Recreation and has been tasked with restoring professionalism, safety, and public confidence in Ghanaian boxing.
Captan will be supported by national icon and former world champion Azumah Nelson, alongside a team of medical, legal, and sporting professionals.
“We have accepted this position to streamline boxing back to its glory days,” Captan said at the inauguration. “We are going to implement it strongly — law is law.”
The IMC’s responsibilities include restructuring the Professional Boxing Association, improving medical and insurance coverage for boxers, and enforcing stricter safety regulations at boxing events.
The move comes after the recent deaths of two professional boxers — Nigeria’s Gabriel Oluwasegun Olanrewaju and Ghana’s Ernest Akushey, also known as “Bahubali” — following fights at the Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra.
The incidents prompted widespread concern over safety protocols and medical oversight within the sport, with calls from stakeholders for urgent reform.
The Ministry says the committee has been given a clear mandate to act swiftly and decisively, and to ensure that Ghanaian boxing meets international standards of athlete welfare and professionalism.
Ghana has a proud boxing heritage, having produced multiple world champions, but the sport has faced criticism in recent years over governance challenges and declining safety standards.