In a night of intense boxing action on Saturday, April 13, in Accra, Nigerian boxer Idowu Rasheed claimed victory in the Africa Light Heavyweight title bout against Ghana's Bastie Samir. Rasheed secured a decisive win by knocking down Samir in the second round, prompting the Ghanaian to fail to respond to the count.
However, controversy marred the outcome of the fight when it was later declared a technical draw amid protests from the Nigerian corner. Officials cited an illegal blow from Rasheed as the reason for the decision.
Following a thorough review of the fight, the Universal Boxing Organisation (UBO) announced Rasheed as the rightful winner, stating that no illegal blows were observed. The UBO emphasized that while they do not have the authority to overturn official results, they can decide on the ownership of vacant titles.
In light of Rasheed's exemplary performance and the absence of any wrongdoing on his part, the UBO declared him the UBO Africa Light Heavyweight champion. They communicated their decision to the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA), intending to overturn the announced result and officially recognize Rasheed as the winner by second-round knockout.