Veteran Nigerian boxing coach, Joe Mensah has concluded plans to give younger boxers the opportunity to showcase their talents by organizing an amateur boxing tournament, Next Rated Young Stars, scheduled to take center stage later this year.
Mensah, who led the Nigeria boxing team to six Olympic Games, one as an assistant and five as the head coach will stage the Next Rated Young Stars in conjunction with his son Jeffery Armah and Kelly Oyebola, brother to the late former Nigeria and British heavyweight boxer James Oyebola.
In a chat with Sportinglife.ng, Mensah, the 1972 Munich Olympic boxer said the tournament, which will run quarterly, plans to seek and reward great young talents in Lagos by providing the platform for them to showcase their skills, which could see them go on to represent Nigeria at major tournaments like the World Championships and the Olympics.
“The objectives of Next Rated Young Stars is to bring back the glory days of good amateur boxing tournaments for young boxers (Male and Female), to search and reward hidden new talents, giving them confidence to dream and believe in themselves.
“It is to motivate and educate youths that through sports, they can learn values of honesty, integrity, sportsmanship to last them a lifetime, this tournament tends to draw local and international attention to grassroot boxing in Lagos.
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“To be a part of Next Rated Young Stars, boxers will be selected by Lagos State Boxing Association (LABA) from different boxing clubs in Lagos. The boxers will slug it out in 10 different weight categories, from the featherweight category to the heavyweight category for both male and female. There will be three rounds with each round lasting three minutes, and the tournament will feature two exhibitions fights.
“At the end of the tournament cash prizes and medals will be given to the first, second and third boxers,” Mensah told Sportinglife.ng.