It was great to see the Ghanaian Commonwealth Games boxing team, the “Black Bombers” in Perth over the weekend taking on the Australian team. Sadly they did not fare too well on the Saturday, winning only three bouts.
There was no doubt in most of the match ups the Ghanaian’s were stronger than their counterparts, and in a number of cases they threw more punches, but they boxed like professionals instead of amateurs.
Hopefully the trip has taught them that pushing your opponent into a corner and peppering him with punches does not necessarily mean you will pick up points. In the amateur game you need three of the judges to see your punch land, and often when you are in the corner only two have a clear view of your punches landing.
Saturday night they felt hard done by, but hopefully they will have learned valuable lessons heading into the Commonwealth Games, lessons that may result in one of them picking up a medal.
