Nollywood actor, Charles Okocha, emerged winner of celebrity boxing face-off of July 31 as Nigerian musician Habeeb ‘Portable’ Okikiola walked out of the ring in the first round.
The bout held at Balmoral Convention Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, came to an abrupt end after Portable took down Okocha against the rule.
The musician then got up and walked of the ring despite persuasion by his coach and fans.
With Portable failing to return into the ring in the stipulated window, the referee declared Okocha winner of the bout. Portable had once defeated Okocha.
Friday’s victory placed Okocha on the same winning level with Portable. The duo fought twice and each won in the celebrity bout.
After the fight, Okocha attributed his victory to training abroad with professionals.
“Of course, my trip abroad paid off because I trained with international heavyweight champions,” Mr Okocha said, challenging online streamer Carter Efe to another fight.
Speaking in a video after Okocha was declared winner, Portable said, “The reason I stopped fighting was because Charles Okocha bit me. It’s a celebrity fight, not a street fight. They promised to take me to London for training but they took Charles Okocha.”
However, Portable’ management team on Saturday in a statement apologised for the musician’s conduct.
“We sincerely apologise to the organisers, Balmoral Group, the entire event team, our fans, friends, family, and everyone who came out to support Portable at tonight’s celebrity boxing event,” the statement said.
It added, “We understand the disappointment caused by the outcome of the fight and by Portable’s decision to step away after the first round. While emotions can run high in moments like these, we respectfully ask everyone to respect his decision and perspective.”
Peoples Gazette