SLOTHFUL SAMUEL

The book of Romans 12:11, reads “don’t be slothful in business, fervent in spirit serving the Lord… On this note I want to congratulate all Nigerians who kept faith with the Nigerian pugilist. I sincerely appreciate all those who called me to know the outcome of the fight and spent time analyzing the fight on phone. I thank a caller who called me all the way from United States of America in his words “Samuel lives to fight another day”.

By now the loss of Nigeria’s Samuel Okon Peter (31-2,23KO) is known to all, I don’t also wish to reopen that lose, I don’t also wish to start analyzing what went wrong and how he would have done what. Rather I want to use this medium to encourage the Nigerian boxer to still hold on. He is still the hardest puncher the heavyweight class can boost of at the moment, the Klitschko’s has not brought us the razzmatazz that boxing fans crave for.

Meanwhile, Vitali Klitschko (38-2, 35KO’s) put up a brilliant performance. It was a clear evidence of brilliance against raw power. The Nigerian corner did no better. It was as if they never studied the strategy of Vitali before and during the training periods. The Nigerian lost not because his opponent was much better, it was simply because he did not fight.

However, as painful as the lose is to me and perhaps most Nigerians, I still think the Nigerian Nightmare has got a lot to offer, he should not quit but take his time and learn the trade well. He should now focus on those gray areas of his fighting style and get some tune up fights to stay in shape. The heavyweight class still lacks boxers with greatness in them, the Klitschko’s are formidable no doubt, but they rely more on fundamental boxing skill to thrive. Any boxer with the heart of a champion will mess any (current) heavyweight boxer up. Little wonder Don King is appealing to Klitschko to lure Lennox Lewis out of retirement. “The promoter Don King, who was in Berlin, suggested Klitschko should make an attempt to lure Lennox Lewis back into the ring for a rematch of their bloody 2003 battle, the last of Lewis's career, when Klitschko appeared to be winning the contest before being stopped after six rounds because of horrendous facial cuts. "What a triumph that fight would be for us old guys," said the 77-year-old King. Until that comes to life, I perceive a bored heavyweight class where fighting would be decided on the breakfast table.

Having said that and in the spirit of sportsmanship I congratulate the victorious Vitali and wish his brother the best in his next outing with Alex povetkin. History has been made, two brothers are heavyweight champions at same time. Leon and Michael Spinks were both heavyweight champions but on different occasions, recall they defeated the likes of Ali and Larry Holmes.

The elated new king of WBC said that he was unsure if he would box on, but with the family dream is fulfilled, the man who has twice tried and failed to be elected mayor of Kiev since his previous appearance in the ring is not in any hurry to hand back the belt. “Without dreams, life is very boring,” he said. “It would be great to take all the world titles in the Klitschko family.”

I sincerely salute Samuel Okon Peter’s bravery, for putting our nation on the map of history even though he was slothful against Vitali Klitschko.