Born into a large polygamous family, EfetoborApochi learnt early in life that he had to fight his way to get what he wanted. He is the fourth child of his mother’s seven children, and growing up in Ugheli, Delta State meant he had to be ready for the unexpected, especially having to subdue his peers when it mattered. He had to be streetwise.
The daily lifestyle of having to watch over his shoulder on the streets eventually pushed him to the point where he must put his skill to the best use, hence the foray into boxing. Growing up in family with bias for boxing actually motivated him more.
“I’ve always been a fighter, right from my primary school days – school fights, street fights, I was always there. The school always invited my mother because I was always in one trouble or another. I was a typical example of a bully,” the four-time national champion told SATURDAY PUNCH.
“I bullied everyone around me in school except girls. I never bully girls. I don’t know why I never went near the girls, but I guess it was due to the value I attached to women through my mother’s love for us. I stayed away from women, I respect them. I never had any amorous affair with women until I gained admission into the university.”
“One of my uncles made me love boxing in 1994, when I was just seven: he was a boxer. It was later I learnt my father was also a boxer when he was young. My father told us that his teammate was (former national boxing coach) Isaac Ikhuoria. My father loves boxing, he was always watching boxing on television and I became greatly influenced by this.”
The 26-year-old heavyweight boxer was later advised by a distant cousin to go fully into boxing. The cousin introduced him to a coach who started work on him immediately.
He said, “In the beginning, it was very difficult to fight the way the coach wanted me to, it was totally different from my rough street fights, it was like punishment. But there was this zeal and determination in me that wanted to see what would come out of it.
“It was a tough life but nobody was willing to help me. Up till now, I’ve not got help from anyone except from the Delta State Governor [Emmanuel Uduaghan], who is passionate about youth sport development. He has helped me financially in the past and I’m grateful.”
For someone who was a bully at school and lived an everyday rough life, Apochi was not expected to be among the few that would be admitted into the Federal University of Technology in Owerri, Imo State to study Microbiology. Many had written him off as unserious, but he was admitted on merit in 2005.
In spite of his desire to be a university graduate, Apochi had to struggle to feed himself, paying tuition and train as a boxer. It was tougher than he had expected. It was not until his third year in the institution that he had to make a hard decision.
“It was tough for me as a student. It was difficult for me to feed myself or pay school fees. It was a hard life. I was fed up with the constant struggle, so I had to quit in 2007. From then on, I began to focus more on boxing,” he lamented.
“I’ve been making efforts to go back to school but it has not been easy. I called for help to get scholarship from the National Sports Commission and the Delta State Government but I’ve been ignored so far. I dropped out of the university to concentrate on boxing because it is very difficult to combine the two. I was in my third yearwhen I decided I couldn’t go on with both careers at the same time.”
But Apochi felt his sacrifice, like many of his teammates’, have not been recognised by the government. After winning a total of 36 medals at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the athletes have not received by the government.
“Since we returned from Glasgow after the Commonwealth Games, nobody has officially welcomed us or commended our efforts. Winning a medal at the Games has not brought me any special status in my neighbourhood because the government doesn’t see anything special in what we do,” he said.
“At some point, you begin to question yourself what motivates you to do all these for your country only to be ignored. Right now, I’m tempted to leave the sport and leave the country to start a new life elsewhere.
“Nigerian boxers have three major competitions in the world – the All-Africa Games, the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics. I was at Maputo 2011 where I won silver; I won bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and by the grace of God, I’ll be at the 2016 Olympics where I hope to win a medal. I’m also four-time national champion, but I have nothing to show for these successes. I don’t have a house to stay, I don’t have a car, and I don’t have money. I’m just managing one way or another.”
Apochi won a bronze medal at the Games. He believed he could have beaten Canada’s Samir El-Mais[the eventual gold medallist], who defeated him in the semi-final, if the referee had not frustrated his efforts.
“Samir was not really better than me. I suspect there was politics in play at the boxing events, and that put me under pressure which made me lose focus. The ref was on his side right from the beginning of the fight,” he said.
He has decided to turn professional but not immediately. He still sees problems in professional boxing in Nigeria, something he said has made boxers poor.
“It’s difficult turning pro when you don’t have a good manager; they’ll just rob you of everything. Be that as it may, I hope to turn pro after the 2016 Olympics. It is better to have a successful season at amateur level before turning pro,” he said.
“I’ll prepare hard for the Olympics, but nothing is on ground at the moment as regards preparation with the Nigeria team. I believe we should have started by now.”
Apochiis the first and only Nigerian competing in the World Series of Boxing after he was signed on by the Mexico Guerrerosin January. He was scouted at the World Championship last year even though he lost his bout to the eventual world champion.
The World Series of Boxing is like a boxing league sanctioned by AIBA. It is a professional international boxing competition that allows the professional boxers to maintain Olympic eligibility. It was actually created to keep boxers busy during the long wait for the Olympics.
He said, “Organisers of the series spotted me at the World Championship last yearand signed me on. This year’s season is gone, the next season starts in January 2015.”
Apochi is hopes to move to either Canada or USA to begin his professional career. According to him, these are the place with the right programmes and equipment that can make him perform at his best.
“Germany is also good for the sport but I don’t want a non-English speaking country. I recall the problems I had in communication the last time I was in Mexico. I don’t want that to happen again,” he said.
He added, “I’m preparing to go to Belgium for a month’s training ahead of the National Sports Festival. The festival will be used for the selection of athletes for the 2015 All-Africa Games holding in February so I’m making my preparation intense.
“I believe training in Nigeria will not get me well prepared for the festival. I’m now used to training abroad for major competitions. I bear the expenses, not the government or any sponsor. I wrote to the Belgium boxing federation and they are willing to have me train with them, but I’ll have to take care of my feeding and accommodation.”
No comments:
Post a Comment