Briton Ede Omoregie will make pro bow in Ghana
Fellow Brit Tasif Khan and David Barreto will clash for WBC Silver title in the main event
Debutant Ede Omoregie makes his pro bow on Friday, June 16 at Accra’s Bukom Boxing Arena in Ghana. The stacked “King of the Ring 3” show will be broadcast live on FITE TV.
The Monarch Promotions event features 11 bouts consisting of boxers from eight different countries including England, Venezuela, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Benin, Ivory Coast, Kazakhstan and Ghana.
British boxer Ede Omoregie will face a rival to be announced over four-rounds at heavyweight. The British born giant is trained by Paul Dogboe, the father and former world championship winning trainer of Isaac 'Royal Storm' Dogboe. He is also trained and mentored by Roy Jones Jr.
Known as "Ozzy", Ede Omoregie was originally trained and mentored by Mark Reigate at the famous Fitzroy Lodge gym.
Now 30, Ede first walked into the gym at 18-years-old after being involved in a robbery and landing himself in trouble with the law. He did not have any GCSEs, but after taking up boxing and finding a new discipline and focus, he acheived a degree in business from the University of Manchester.
Ede looked back on his beginnings in boxing, “When I was young I was very stubborn and hard-headed, and when I started boxing I thought I could adopt that same mentality.
“I thought I could just come in here and do things my way, but boxing teaches you to listen and be humble. I learned that the hard way.
“You learn to deal with the ups and downs in life, be resilient and to bounce back and achieve your full potential. These principles of hard work can be applied in different aspects of your life. Everything you want to work for in life, you have put in your all. While I was studying it helped having this passion for boxing. It’s kind of a lonely sport, you get used to being on your own. So I just studied and boxed. And it gives you self-confidence knowing that you can do it.”
Ede, from Stockwell, south west London, hopes he can pass on the wisdom he has learned to some of the younger men and women searching for more purpose in their lives.
He says: “A lot of youths are lost and don’t know who they are. So you see this knife crime and gun crime because they are creating a fake image of themselves. But in a boxing environment, it shows you who you truly are.
“I had both parents, I’m from a good family, but growing up in certain areas, you can be led astray. And now I get to a certain age, I feel like I can educate the youth and become a mentor. Because we don’t really have role models coming from where we come from, people who can relate to what we went through.
“Their role models are older people in their area, living the fast life and making money on the street. And they think that’s a way out. But I’m going to show them everyone has their own individual skills. We are all special in our own way. Some people don’t excel in academics, so they think they’re not good enough. But there are lots of different types of genius. There are people that are good at art, music, sport, so it’s directing people towards their own inner genius.”
You can watch Ede's pro debut fight on www.fite.tv
UPDATE: Ede's pro dubut was cancelled, he said, "Should be out by August, fighting abroad to build my record up quickly, then back to the UK."
Tasif Khan vs David Barreto
In the main event, the World Boxing Council Silver super-flyweight belt will be at stake and will be contested by Tasif Khan (16-1-2, 8KO) from Bradford, England and David Barreto (17-2, 16KO) from Venezuela.
In his last bout, last December, Khan claimed the WBO Africa title with a wide unanimous decision win over Gabriel Odoi Laryea in Lagos.
Managed by Stanley Williams, Tasif has been a pro since November 2005, his career spanning three decades. During his 18-years in the paid ranks, Tasif has collected GBU World and WBO Africa super-flyweight titles. Not bad from someone who only won two of his first five contests.
He hasn't fought in the UK for over seven years, since his win over Isaac Quaye in February 2016. His first 14 bouts were in England, but his last five fights have been fought in Germany and Nigeria. On around three occasions, Khan has found himself out of the ring for around two years or so, but this Friday's fight will be his fifth within 20 months.
His 20th opponent will be David Alberto Barreto Fernandez, known as "El Pollo", which translates to "The Chicken". The 29-year-old from Caracas has 16 knockouts from his 17 victories, totalling a fearsome 94% KO ratio.
He is a former WBA Fedebol super-flyweight champion and once challenged for the WBA Gold title, in February last year, losing via mixed decision against Mikhail Aloyan in Russia, his second professional fight abroad. This will be his third fight overseas and he is yet to win outside of his native Venezuela, which will incentivise Khan, who has won every fight abroad.
The co-main event will be a compelling women’s bout as undefeated Nigerian Adijat Gbadamosi (7-0) takes on Zimbabwe’s Patience Mastara (5-8-4) for the vacant ABU super-bantamweight title.
Undercard
Felix Ajom of Ghana will face his compatriot Emmanuel Quartey in super-featherweight over eight-rounds.
Eworitse Ezra Arenyeka, aka “The King of Nigeria”, will face Benin’s Philibert Sodjinou in an eight-round super-middleweight bout.
Victor Beneth of Nigeria will face his Zimbabwean counterpart, Anele Bafana, in an eight-round light-heavyweight contest.
Prince Oko Nartey of Ghana will face Ivorian Adama Kone in an eight-rounder at super-middleweight.
Henry Malm will face Collinson Korley in an eight-round super welterweight.
Temirzhan Baimolda from Kazakhstan will face Issa Aliyah Phiri from Zimbabwe in an eight-round 140lb contest.
Fosu Timothy of Ghana will take on Sule Keke of Benin in a six-round welterweight bout.
The final two bouts will feature Ghana’s undefeated super-lightweight prospect Faisal Abubakari aka “Poncho Power” in a six-round super lightweight contest against an opponent to be announced.
The ‘King of the Ring 3’ event can be followed live through www.fite.tv
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