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The head coach of Ghana’s national boxing team, the Black Bombers, Ofori Asare has cited inadequate preparation as the main reason for Duke Micah’s catastrophic loss to John Riel Casimero.
The Ghanaian boxer suffered the first loss of his career after the Filipino boxer crushed him in the third round to retain his World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight title.
Micah, who had his first shot at a world title, was brought down with a fierce left hook after a series of punches from the Filipino who dominated the fight from the start.
The coach was shocked by the ex-Olympian’s display and believes that time was too short for him to prepare for the biggest fight of his life.
“In combat of this type, preparation is key. Micah was very eager to win a world title for Ghana, so he accepted the fight in a very short period.
“But you could clearly see in the ring that he wasn’t ready for that and he just agreed to fight Casimero. I found it strange how she often fought with her head down because we know that Micah is a very good fighter who takes on her opponents with vigor.
“He was excellent during his amateur days and has steadily improved over the years, but I think there were some communication barriers in his corner during the fight,” he said.
Coach Asare added that Micah might have been surprised after he was chosen for the world title shot, especially by not being classified in the WBO bantamweight division, but could have been selected based on his undefeated streak.
“The one and a half month deadline for the fight was too short for Micah and he certainly would not have prepared enough. Our fighters of late often fall for this promoter tactic and often have unimpressive performances, “he added.
He advised boxers not to rush to accept world titles if they were not well prepared because it would be difficult for them to succeed.
