The finals of the Ghana National Amateur Championship on Friday night ended in chaos.
Supporters of Jonathan Tetteh and his corner went on riot just as the officials were getting ready to declare the result of the final bout involving him and 2020 Olympian Shakuh Samir.
The boxer, with a vociferous fan base, insisted he won the fight though he clearly lost to Samir.
It was an interesting night that saw many of the finalists exhibiting great boxing skills.
The official for reasons best known to them decided to skip the 10th bout involving Samir of Akotoku Academy and Jonathan Tetteh of the Bridge Foundation Gym to the last.
Tetteh opened the first three minutes of the Super middleweight contest with some effective jabs that saw his fans go gay.
But the Tokyo 2020 participant warmed up and before the end of the round landed a number of punches that nearly sent his opponent to the canvas.
From this point, Jonathan Tetteh’s best effort was to clinch at every opportunity.
Round 2 was nearly even with Shakuh still landing the best of shots, while Tetteh was doing the best of clinching.
Round 3 was no different as Shakuh Samir was the better boxer while Jonathan Tetteh was best with clinching, attracting a number of warnings.
The referee was just short of either deducting Tetteh a point or disqualifying him for repeated clinching.
Ironically, his corner jumped in to the ring as soon as the bell sounded signalling the end of hostilities, carrying him shoulder high claiming he had won.
Other supporters massed upon the officials shouting they had won.
Sensing danger and in a bid to avoid more chaos, the officials quickly packed their documents and left the table.
Shakuh and his corner, who were also celebrating victory modestly, went off the ring while Jonathan paced the ring screaming he is the best and has showcased exactly that.
Just then all manner of missiles started flying over the ring.
The few security personnel around were helpless looking at the numbers.
The President of the Ghana Boxing Federation (GBF) and other dignitaries also stepped in but the destruction went on for a while until the rioters were fed up.
Official results as gathered from the match commissioners and per this reporter and other media tabulations clearly gave an undisputed win to Shakuh Samir.
It is unclear what action the Federation will be taking regarding the incident, which when not checked would derail the forward match of Ghana boxing.
By Peter Quao Adattor|TV|3news.com|Ghana
