Bash Ali Aims High …Wants To Become ‘God’ Of Nigerian Boxing

TAIWO ADELU

To Bashiru Lawrence Ali, popularly called Bash Ali, at 62, becoming the oldest man to win a boxing championship and write his name and that of his fatherland in gold in the Guinness Book of World Record is his ultimate dream.

Bash Ali, who was given a National Honour, Officer of Order of the Niger (OON), by the Federal Government of Nigeria, has vowed not to leave anything to chance to ensure that the Guinness Book of World Record fight sees the light of the day.

He wants this fight to take place in Nigeria and he had rebuffed offers from abroad to take the fight away. It has not been easy for him.

“I won’t relent until this fight is held in Nigeria,” said the Edo State-born pugilist, who was the cruiserweight champion of the World Boxing Federation (WBF).  “Successive governments since the regime of President Olusegun Obasanjo to the present government of Muhammadu Buhari had given presidential backings to the Guinness Book of World Record Boxing Championship to the extent that a Local Organising Committee (LOC) was set up twice by the government on this fight. According to Bash Ali, corruption in the system has prevented the ‘Bash Ali Project’ from flying.

“I’m a tough man, I have not given up and I won’t be intimidated to see the dream die. I want to assure my fans that the fight will definitely hold in Nigeria as all effort is ongoing to see that necessary thing is put in place for a successful organisation of the fight.

“I want to do something beyond human comprehension, that an old African man beat a young American boxer to rewrite boxing history in the world. George Foreman set the Guinness World Record (GWR) in his country, America. Joe Bugner set the GWR in his country, Australia. Bernard Hopkins set the GWR in his country, America, so I too want to do it in my country Nigeria.

“Boxing has been dead in Nigeria, but I resurrected it, by then I was called the ‘Jesus Christ’ of Nigerian boxing. I fought Terry Ray of America in year 2000 to become the Black Moses of boxing in Nigeria and now I want to become the ‘god’ of boxing not only in Nigeria and Africa, but the entire world that by 63, next year that I will be fighting for the GWR, I will become the oldest man in the world to have won a world title fight,” Ali said.