GWR Bout: Bash Ali Seeks Audience With Buhari

World Boxing Federation (WBF) champion, Bashiru Lawrence Ali, OON, has written an appreciation letter to President Muhammadu Buhari for given the Federal Government’s backing to the forthcoming Guinness Book of World Record Boxing Championship which Nigeria will be hosting very soon.

The historic fight had long been planned to hold in Nigeria, but due to corruption and bad administration, this has not been allowed to see the light of the day. A double honour is on the card for Ali if the bout holds as planned. The Nigerian boxer, who is fondly called Bash Ali by his admirers, is aiming to become the oldest boxer  in the world to step on the ring and if he wins, he would be the oldest boxer in the world to win a boxing title.

Ali in a letter dated Monday, 6 January, 2020 told President Buhari that sports is one of the biggest industries in Nigeria and if well organised, would earn big time money for the government.

He said that the blood of patriotism that runs in his body has never allowed him to dump Nigeria for another country even when the least opportunity came his way.

“Unlike another boxer who could not stand the injustice, corruption and bad administration and gave up on Nigeria, went abroad to pursue his boxing career representing another country, became a world champion and earned millions of dollars in the process, I never gave up on my country, Nigeria despite being detained at eight various police stations in Abuja, despite being beaten severally and twice admitted at the Abuja National Hospital to heal my wounds, despite being detained at Kuje Prison in Abuja from  9 February – 2 April, 2015,  despite being financially broke and offered 50 million Euro to fight abroad, and despite several foreign newspapers including a New York Times article that says “I am campaigning in vain in Nigeria to host a world boxing Guinness fight” not because I am a criminal but because I have the guts to confront the criminals in government by saying No to corruption, injustice and bad administration in Nigeria,” he said.

Bash Ali informed the President how the Minister of Sports, Sunday Dare had told him on 4 November, 2019 that Buhari had directed the ministry to give all support for the successful hosting of the Guinness Book of World Record Boxing Championship.

“This is a lucrative fight in the history of pay-per-view television revenue with the least expected revenue of $1.5 Billion, an event that would attract top Nigeria over 132 countries and more importantly, the first Guinness World Record Boxing Championship on the soil of Africa,” he said.

According to Ali, the Federal Government under Buhari on 21 May, 2019 inaugurated the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the fight in Abuja and since then nothing has been done to roll out programme for actualisation of the event.

“The LOC is ready to move from words into action to host the biggest and most lucrative boxing fight in the world. Sir I thank you very much for rewarding my patriotism, tenacity and Nigerian spirit of never give up’.

Bash Ali concluded his letter by seeking an audience with Mr President. “I respectively ask Your Excellency to permit me the luxury of paying a courtesy visit in order to send a message to patriotic Nigerians that they will always be acknowledged by you.”