George Lamptey, the President of the Ghana Amateur Boxing Authority, has debunked assertions that Samuel Takyi, the Olympic bronze medalist, has been promoted from an amateur boxer to a professional one.
Samuel Takyi, who is 20 years old revealed in an interview that his days as an amateur boxer were over and will move on to the next level after achieving his dream of winning an Olympic medal in Tokyo.
However, according to Mr Lamptey, young boxer Samuel Takyi is not ready to fight as a professional and misunderstood the question asked hence his answer to fight professionally.
Speaking to an Accra-based FM station, Mr Lamptey said: “No he’s not turning professional as at now it was a question they asked him and he didn’t think of it very well but I’ve spoken to him and he had no idea so that interview can be discarded.
“He’s focusing on his amateur career, I’ve spoken to his management and they were also surprised and so in a nut shell he has shelved that decision and focusing on his next step…”
Mr Lamptey indicated that it will take a lot of consultations to turn Takyi into a professional boxer.
He explained that “we will need to consult his management as well as professional boxers like former world champion Azumah Nelson before we come to a conclusion to so that we don’t jeopardise his boxing career after he has lifted the flag of Ghana.