Nigerian street-pop artist, Habeeb Badmus, popularly known as Portable, has declined Nollywood actor Charles Okocha’s call for a rematch and refusal to hand over the belt after their Heritage Boxing Entertainment celebrity bout. Portable emerged victorious in the match held at Landmark Beach, Oniru, near Victoria Island, Lagos.
Okocha contested the outcome, alleging that Portable removed his boxing gloves in the third round, an action that should have led to an immediate disqualification. The actor took to Instagram to express his dissatisfaction, claiming the bout was rigged due to an incompetent referee and called for a rematch.
Portable responded with videos vehemently rejecting Okocha’s demands and expressing reluctance to fight him again. Instead, he directed Okocha to challenge two-time world heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, and emphasized his determination to keep the belt.
In the midst of this, Azania Omo-Agege, the interim president of the Nigerian Boxing Federation, commended both Portable and Okocha for promoting boxing in Nigeria. Omo-Agege expressed happiness at the exposure the celebrities brought to the sport and stated that the NBF would consider partnering with them to make them ambassadors of boxing in Nigeria. He highlighted the potential of their identification with boxing to encourage Nigerian youths to engage in the sport.
The Africa Boxing Confederation VP also applauded the organizers of the celebrity boxing event for their contribution to promoting boxing in Nigeria. Omo-Agege emphasized the importance of such initiatives in developing sports in the country and expressed the federation’s interest in working with the celebrities to further support Nigerian boxing.
