Until a few weeks ago, very few Ghanaians had heard of Samir Bastie – except for the true worshippers of the sport at its shrines at Bukom, the Mecca of Ghanaian boxing.
Everything changed, however, after Bastie whupped Braimah Kamoko, aka Bukom Banku, the tyrant of the ring and the neighborhood, and former national super-heavyweight champion.
I’m surprised none of the headlines read BASTIE EATS BANKU! Bastie is now a household name; there’s talk of a rematch and even a resurgence of the sport especially with the new boxing arena at Bukom (where else?) combined with social media and cable television.
However, there are others who feel that boxing is inhumane and doesn’t belong to the 21st century; that a sport whose purpose is to cause a man or woman as much physical damage as possible from the waistline up is cruel, beastly and doesn’t count as “sport”.
Yet, people find it a beauty to pay for and to watch. So does the bruising beauty of boxing have a future?
