Alumona: With time, Nigeria will regain its place in world boxing

Jenkins Alumona

Jenkins Alumona has been in the forefront of the country’s drive to revive boxing, as a sport and profession-+. His Flykite Promotions has been the leading boxing promoting outfit in Nigeria for more than 10 years, building fighters who have gone on to become continental champions.

Through GOtv Boxing Night, an event that gives Nigerian boxers opportunity to practice their trade, Alumona has been able to reignite the country’s love for the sweet science, which in the good old days gave the nation some of its best moments in sports.

The Guardian caught up with the journalist turned marketing expert, at the weekend, when he shared his experience from his early days in sports reporting to his current status as Nigeria’s biggest boxing promoter.

He said: “I was thrust into public attention via journalism, which saw me work with The Guardian and The News group in the 90s. I studied Mass Communication and I thought journalism was a natural habitat. A journalist was what I always wanted to be and I am glad I became one, even rising to the position of an editor of The NEWS, one of the media weapons against military dictatorship in the country.

“As an extension, I also had a spell co-hosting Master Sports along with illustrious names like Paul Bassey and Chris Eseka. Master Sports, you will recall, was the biggest sports show on television in those days. That was part of the journalistic platform that launched my career.

“You may not be exactly right to say I took a road less travelled. In terms of boxing, perhaps it is a road less travelled. But I have seen sports journalists go into the promotion of other sports.”

Alumona describes boxing as a life-long affair, which he started following closely at The Guardian,