The Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) has come under fire from Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) Public Relations Director, Kenneth Bouhairie, for their controversial stance on former IBF Lightweight champion Richard Commey’s refusal to pay dues to the organization.
In an exclusive interview with Citi Sports ahead of the PBC co-promoted big fight between Ryan Garcia and Gervonta Davis on April 22 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Bouhairie blasted the GBA’s demand for 5% of Commey’s purse from his Vasiliy Lomachencko fight.
According to Bouhairie, Commey has not been licensed by the GBA since 2017 and therefore is not under their auspices. Despite this, the GBA used statutes in their rulebook to claim that they were entitled to the 5% cut. When Commey refused to pay, GBA President Abraham Neequaye instructed him to avoid fighting under the Ghana flag.
Bouhairie was scathing in his criticism of the GBA’s actions, stating that they were acting as if they were the ones who gave birth to Richard Commey.
“The GBA demanded he give them 5% of the purse and they used statutes in the GBA rulebook to claim that they can do this when in reality is Richard Commey has not been licensed by the GBA since 2017 so he isn’t under the auspices of the GBA,” Bouhairie said.
“Yet they demanded this money and when he would not give it to them, they even told him he could not carry the flag of Ghana to the ring…as if they were the ones who gave birth to Richard Commey.”
The controversy surrounding Commey’s dues to the GBA has been ongoing for some time, and the situation came to a head after his recent loss to Jose Ramirez. Despite the defeat, Commey remains a highly-regarded fighter in the sport, and his refusal to pay the GBA has won him widespread support from fans and fellow fighters alike.
The GBA has yet to respond to Bouhairie’s comments, but the controversy is likely to continue until a resolution is found. For his part, Commey will be looking to bounce back from his loss to Ramirez and prove that he is still a force to be reckoned with in the Lightweight division.
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