The shocking death of Nigerian boxer, Gabriel Oluwasegun Olanrewaju during a sanctioned bout at Accra’s Bukom Arena on March 29, 2025 has opened a can of worms about the state of professional boxing in Ghana and across West Africa.
A 100-page report by a ministerial committee chaired by Ambassador Major Amarkai Amarteifio (Rtd) has concluded that Olanrewaju’s death was “preventable” and the result of a dangerous cocktail of medical negligence, regulatory lapses and governance failures within the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA).
He shouldn’t have entered the ring
The committee declared that both the GBA and the Nigerian Boxing Board of Control failed in their duties, stressing that Olanrewaju “should not have left Nigeria, let alone climbed into a boxing ring in Accra, if international best practice had been followed.”
The coroner’s report later confirmed that the Nigerian fighter died of sudden cardiac death, caused by an enlarged heart with acute left ventricular failure — a condition that proper pre-bout screening would likely have detected.
Instead, Olanrewaju received only a cursory medical check two hours before the fight, in violation of international standards that require a doctor-led examination at least 24 hours prior.
Ambulance unprepared, evacuation delayed
The committee’s findings laid bare shocking gaps in ringside emergency care. The National Ambulance Service arrived five minutes after Olanrewaju’s collapse without a resuscitator, oxygen, or a cardiopulmonary resuscitation kit.
Emergency technicians only began life support after placing the unconscious boxer in the ambulance.
Worse still, the ambulance had been ordered to park away from the designated emergency exit, further delaying evacuation.
Beyond medical failures, the report revealed contractual irregularities. The bout contract was never signed by the promoter, leaving only the boxer’s signature.
Yet, the Nigerian Boxing Board of Control issued a release letter based on that defective contract, granting clearance to fight.
The GBA, despite the faulty paperwork sanctioned the contest — a move the committee described as “ineffectual and baseless.”
The inquiry uncovered multiple breaches of boxing regulations:
- Olanrewaju was reported to have weighed 85 kg, five kilograms above the light-heavyweight limit, but no official record of weights appeared on the fight bill.
- The scheduled Clerk of Scales, who should have overseen weigh-ins, doubled as Match Commissioner — a clear conflict of interest — and failed to attend the weigh-in altogether.
- The boxer’s trainer admitted instructing him to jog off excess weight after the weigh-in, exposing him to dehydration and cardiac stress.
- No anti-doping tests were carried out on either fighter, in breach of World Anti-Doping Agency standards.
Governance rot inside the GBA
The report also pointed to institutional decay inside the GBA. The Medical Commission, which should oversee fighter safety, has been vacant for three years.
Witnesses testified that no ringside doctors have been present at GBA events for at least three years, despite rules requiring two doctors at every promotion.
Government steps in
In response, the Ministry of Sports and Recreation has endorsed sweeping reforms. Key among them: Suspension of the GBA license under L.I. 2477 until constitutional review and elections are completed, Establishment of an interim body under the National Sports Authority (NSA) to oversee professional boxing and Formal notification of international sanctioning bodies about the reforms.
A regional wake-up call
The tragedy has sent shockwaves through West Africa’s boxing fraternity. For Ghana, it is a moment of reckoning for Bukom — the nation’s boxing heartbeat. For Nigeria, it is a devastating reminder of the risks fighters face when systems fail.
Observers in Accra and Lagos warn that unless reforms are swiftly implemented, the sport risks losing credibility, endangering athletes, and undermining the proud boxing traditions of both countries. As one committee member bluntly put it: “This was not just an accident in the ring. It was the failure of a system.”
