Abu Kamoko, son of former Ghanaian boxer Brimah Kamoko, faced disappointment as he failed to secure a spot in the Black Bombers squad for the African Qualifiers held in Dakar, Senegal. Freezy Macbones represented the team instead.

Despite not being selected for the first World Qualifier in Italy, Kamoko managed to make it onto the team for the 13th African Games, where he won a silver medal after two bouts. However, his boxing style failed to impress many fans and officials of the Ghana Boxing Federation (GBF). Consequently, he was not chosen for the second world qualifier in Bangkok, Thailand, slated for May 25 to June 2, 2024.

In light of the disappointing performances by Ghana’s boxers in previous Olympic qualification competitions, the GBF aims to field boxers with a higher chance of securing qualification to the Olympic Games. All 12 boxers representing Ghana in the Olympic Games qualification round in Senegal last September were eliminated. Similarly, at the second Olympic qualifiers in Italy in March, none of the Ghanaian boxers managed to qualify.

With the upcoming Olympic qualifiers in Bangkok representing the last chance for Ghana to secure tickets to compete in the Olympics, the exclusion of Abu Kamoko, who won a silver medal at the African Games, has raised eyebrows. Despite his impressive performance at the African Games, where he reached the final of the 86kg cruiserweight division, Kamoko’s raw boxing style has been deemed insufficient by the GBF to compete at the international level.

Kamoko, also known as Ambitious Tilapia, expressed his disappointment at not being selected for the Thailand qualifier, citing his silver medal win as justification for his inclusion. Mohammed Aryeetey, who won gold at the African Games, also did not make the cut for the Thailand qualifier.

Meanwhile, the GBF plans to send the reserves from the Black Bombers to a tournament in New Zealand.