The mother of late Nigerian boxer, Segun ‘Success’ Olanrewaju, has cried out for justice following her son’s sudden death during a boxing match in Ghana. She revealed that before the bout, he sent a message saying he was being pressured to step down for his opponent. In a viral video circulating on Wednesday, the grieving…
The mother of late Nigerian boxer, Segun ‘Success’ Olanrewaju, has cried out for justice following her son’s sudden death during a boxing match in Ghana.
She revealed that before the bout, he sent a message saying he was being pressured to step down for his opponent.
In a viral video circulating on Wednesday, the grieving mother pleaded with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Nigerians, saying,“Tinubu, help me. Segun is my only child. I raised him alone after his father died during the June 12, 1993 crisis.
“He sent me a message saying he was being threatened to step down for his opponent, but he refused. We only saw the message after he died in that same match.”
She added, “He fought from Round 1 to Round 2, but after Round 3, my son couldn’t lift his hands again. Don’t let this story be covered. Please, Nigerians, help me seek justice for my son. He has a wife and children. He’s the only one taking care of us.”
The late boxer, who died during a bout with Ghana’s John Mbagunu, popularly known as “Power,” collapsed in the ring at Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra last Saturday.
He was fighting in an undercard bout of Ghana’s Professional Boxing League and was reportedly competing for a ₦3 million purse.
According to officials of the Nigerian Boxing Board of Control (NBB of C), Olanrewaju had earlier planned to return to Nigeria after the match was initially postponed from Friday. However, organisers persuaded him to stay back and fight on Saturday.
Secretary General of the board, Remi Aboderin, confirmed the boxer was granted a late licence to fight, saying, “He was already on his way back to Nigeria on Saturday morning when the fight didn’t take place on Friday as scheduled, before he was persuaded to return and fight on that day. He had complained that he didn’t have money, and I believe that made him accept the offer.”
Aboderin added that the cause of death is still unknown and the NBB of C is awaiting the result of an autopsy being conducted by Ghanaian authorities.
“We are waiting for the autopsy to know what exactly happened in Ghana. But as a body, the NBB of C will do everything possible to ensure we get to the root of the death,” he said.
President of the NBB of C, Dr Raufiu Ladipo, also weighed in, stating, “I am sure the Ghanaian authorities did the right things before the fight. There must have been medical checks before weigh-in. If you watched that fight, you will see that he just went down; there was no blow to any part of his body. That is why the autopsy is necessary.”
Ladipo noted that public holidays in Ghana may delay the release of the autopsy result but promised the board will brief the media after its meeting scheduled for Thursday.
Olanrewaju, 40, was born in Lagos and had 23 professional fights, with 13 wins, 12 by knockout. Reports say he had been facing tough times recently, losing four fights in a row before his tragic end.
