Famous Nigerian actor, Charles Okocha has insisted that the celebrity boxing match with Portable was manipulated to guarantee the singer victory.
He listed out a series of factors that ruined his chances of besting the Zazuu star, such as a ‘slippery ring’ and Portable’s decision to take off his gloves mid-fight which he thought was grounds for disqualification.
Okocha who spoke in a recent interview with The Punch, said a draw would have been more reasonable instead of declaring his opponent as winner.
The Nollywood star also revealed that the organisers are traveling back to Nigeria for the rematch, and he expressed confidence in his ability to beat Portable.
Okocha said; “It was manipulated for Portable to win. He didn’t fight the entire rounds as we should have, they also didn’t make adequate preparations for the fight and the organisers are not happy with the result of the event.
First of all, the ring was not good, the whole ring was slippery, they didn’t clean it well after previous bouts. That was why in the first round, when Portable rushed at me and tried to hit my head, I slipped and fell while trying to avoid him. But in the second round, I had the upper hand, and even until the third round, I still had the upper hand. It was after that he took off his boxing gloves and said he was not fighting anymore.
You know how Portable is. So, I was expecting that he would be disqualified because why would you take off your gloves in the middle of a fight? That should be a disqualification, but then, even if they didn’t disqualify him for that, since it is an exhibition fight, I don’t think he should have been declared the winner. I think a draw would have been fairer if it wasn’t me winning. Somebody says he is not fighting, and yet he was announced the winner. I was very disappointed.
The organisers of the fight are coming for the rematch and this time it will be arranged much better. This one, everybody will see the real result, and the real champion will emerge after the fight. All hands will be on deck this time around. The organisers are coming down to Nigeria and this time, it will hold at the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos.”
