Tonight is the night we’ve been waiting for—we the lovers of big fights, we the aficionados of the hurting game, this beautiful yet ugly and bloody game where two gladiators in the boxing ring aim blows, aim deadly punches at each other, with the mob screaming for blood and rooting for the favourite boxer to win, with the whole boxing-crazy world watching on television all around the world.
Boxing indeed is a crazy game of life and death, beloved from pole to pole. When you talk of big fights, there are many to remember, depending on which age you belong. In the words of one boxing writer, “From the legendary heavyweight clashes of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier to the dazzling footwork of Sugar Ray Leonard, boxing has gifted us with unforgettable moments. It’s a sport that has spawned heroes and villains, tragedies and triumphs, all woven into the rich tapestry of its history.”I am trying to remember some of my favorites, the big fights I like to watch when I am bored and I need some excitements. Let me start with February 25, 1964 when a young, brash, handsome, poetic Cassius Clay, then 22, beat the hell out of the fearsome Sonny Liston in Round 7 and “shook up” the world. You can still watch it on YouTube in black and white with Ali, saying: “I shook up the world…I didn’t have a mark on my face… I must be the greatest…He wanted to go to heaven, so I took him in seven.”From there on, Cassius Clay, who changed his name to Muhammad Ali, became the face of boxing, starring in big fights like Ali vs. Frazier (March 8, 1971), Ali vs. Foreman in the “Rumble in the Jungle,” (October 30, 1974) and fights too many to count. I remember a few more big fights like Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearn (September 16, 1981), Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Marvin Haggler (April 15, 1985), Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield (November 9, 1996) and of course Mike Tyson vs. Buster Douglas in Tokyo (February 11, 1990) in the biggest upset in boxing history when a 42-1 underdog Buster Douglas fought the fight of his life to beat the hitherto undefeated and undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. It’s one fight I keep watching and watching.Now, tonight under the scorching desert sky of Riyadh, a true clash of titans unfolds. In the Kingdom Arena, Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury, with a physique like Goliath stands across the ring from the undefeated Ukrainian, Oleksandr Usyk. Usyk who twice, defeated our own Anthony Joshua, shattering the myth that boxing is solely about size, weight, or brute strength. Usyk, the cunning southpaw, proved it’s the sweet science that reigns supreme. Usyk, though smaller, is a whirlwind of precise punches and elusive footwork. The big riddle wrapped in enigma is: Can Usyk repeat his Joshua feat against an even bigger challenge? Or will Fury’s raw power and Mohammed Ali-like movement overpower the Ukrainian’s guile. One thing is for sure, as these two gladiators touch gloves, the entire boxing world holds its breath. Tonight, one man will be crowned undisputed heavyweight champion, holding aloft all five major belts—WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO. Who will it be? So, where does Pastor Eunuch Adejare Adeboye fits in all this? The man of God was in church two Sundays ago preaching a sermon on “SHIELD OF FAVOUR” when surprisingly he veered consciously into the boxing arena, showcasing his boxing skills, revealing that he was once a boxer and he knew the art of self-defence—which is the No.1 rule in boxing: “Defend yourself at all times.” Then came more newsworthy revelations: “In boxing, my coach taught me years ago—I told you I used to be a boxer, I know I don’t look like one now. He warned us: ‘Don’t let down your guard. When you go to battle against the opponent, make sure you are protecting your head. Keep your guards up.’ “The only fellow that we know in boxing in those days, who never bothered about the shield up there, is because he had his own shield on his legs, is a fellow known as Muhammad Ali. Because he has a footwork that is second to none. So, when you are trying to get him, he doesn’t bother, he is not wasting his time shielding his face, because he knows he can float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. If you know anything about boxing, if you have studied…He happens to be my hero. You won’t find a scratch on his face. He doesn’t allow the enemy to get close to his face at all, by using his legs. Now, if you are not Muhammad Ali, then keep on your shield. That’s for the sportsmen. Glory be to God.” In my Google search, I discovered that sermon wasn’t the first time Pastor Adeboye was paying homage to Muhammad Ali, the greatest boxer that ever entered the boxing ring. In his earlier preaching, Pastor Adeboye revealed that Ali was “one of my favorite boxers when I was a young boxer. I loved Muhammad Ali. From the days when he was Cassius Clay. He would predict the round he would knock out the opponent accurately. And I was watching him, because I wanted to be like him. Incidentally, we are of the same age. He was born in 1942. Just like myself. And I discovered that the method he used to defeat the opponents, is not so much the ability to box. It’s that he got them angry, he would abuse them, he would taunt them. So they came into the ring angry. And angry people make mistakes…” Pastor Adeboye concluded his sermon, still on fighting and the shield of favour, saying: “As long as God is not fighting with you, it doesn’t matter how many are fighting with you, you will win. One with God is always a majority any day. Let the enemy gang up against you, as long as God is on your side, you will just be getting higher and higher.”
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