Samuel Takyi finished third in the under 57kg boxing tournament at the 2021 Games, this August 3 at the Kokugikan in Tokyo. He thus offers to Ghana its first Olympic medal since 1992. It reminds us that this West African country is one of the powers of the continent in the discipline.
“I proved that Ghana is also boxing, that you can also win in boxing and not only in soccer. Samuel Takyi dreamed of winning the first Olympic gold medal in the history of his country. But he will have to settle for bronze, after his defeat 4-1 against the American Duke Ragan, this August 3, 2021 in Tokyo, in the semi-finals of the Olympic Games.
The featherweight has also highlighted the long Ghanaian tradition in this discipline. Of the four other medals won by Ghana at the Olympics, three were in boxing, in 1960, 1964 and 1972.
Today, a dozen Ghanaians are among the elite of professional boxing, the second best represented country in Africa after South Africa in the Top 15 of the IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO. And a boxer like Richard Commey, who fought (and lost) to superstar Teofimo Lopez and is about to do so again against another ogre of the ring, Ukrainian Vasiliy Lomachenko, continues to enliven the world of the Noble Art.