IKPO IGBINOBA/Lagos
One time leading contender to Africa’s boxing light middle weight title, Godwin Igelle is considering taking BoxRec, an organisation that keeps professional boxing record based in the United States to court to seek compensation for mutilating his fight record.
Last December, PM EXPRESS exclusively reported the gaffe by BoxRec which published Igelle’s record as three fights with one win and two losses.
PM Express aside exposing BoxRec fake record also published the authentic record of the pugilist.
Igelle boxed for eighteen years from 1985 to 2003. In the period, he had twenty six fights with 17 wins(11 knockouts), eight losses and one draw.
The high point of Igelle’s career was being the top contender to the continental crown.
The fake records of Igelle had been on the website of the controversial record keeper for almost a decade.
And four months after PM Express put the boxer’s records straight, BoxRec have refused to correct their mistake.
Instead, a Jeremy Lantz who introduced himself as the editor of the website which is notorious for publishing fake records put up a defence that triggered world-wide outburst by those in the fight game.
Igelle was furious when he spoke with PM Express at the weekend in Lagos.
“Can you believe it, that BoxRec still has the fake record on their website,four months after PM Express published my authentic record?
“Now it is clear that BoxRec ab initio had a sinister intention for publishing the fake records for me”.
“I am distressed and right now I am consulting with my lawyers who will address this injustice and harm done to me”.
Igelle who blamed his subsistence existence on BoxRec explained how the US- based record keeper ruined him.
“By publishing the fake record, BoxRec ruined my reputation as a successful boxer and denied me the opportunity of earning a decent living after retirement.
“For several years, I tried to strike a boxing related partnership with some promoters abroad but they declined my proposal.
It’s now evident that they refused to do business with me because of the fake record from BoxRec which portrayed me as a failure.
“Which promoter, manager or boxer would want to do business with a retired boxer who had only three fights in eighteen years losing two and winning one?”
The former President of the National Association of Professional Boxers, NAPROB insisted that BoxRec had some ulterior motive for publishing the fake records.
According “If they made a mistake initially with my record, why didn’t they make amends after reading PM EXPRESS which published my authentic records?”
Igelle said he was in consultation with his lawyer with a view to taking legal action against the record keeper.
“BoxRec have destroyed my reputation built over eighteen years with blood, sweat and tears and they must pay for it”, Igelle added.