Sports
McGuigan to challenge Azumah
Ghana's World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight champion Azumah Nelson may find himself in the same boxing ring with the newly crowned WBA featherweight champion Barry McGuigan of Northern Ireland, to determine which of the two is the undisputed world featherweight champion.A hint about this possible fight was contained in British press reports in which it has been suggested that McGuigan, fresh from his victory over the legendary former world champion Eusebio Pedroza of Panama, has it in him to unite the featherweight division as Marvin Hagler has done for the middleweights.
Such a fight may, however, be months and possibly years away as the same British sports commentators suggested to McGuigan to fight less glamorous opponents than his last two, Pedroza and another former champion Juan Laporte. He was advised to at least balance his books at the bank so as not to fall into the trap of Alan Minter who, soon after winning his world middleweight title, displayed a little too much rash haste in accepting Hagler's challenge.
Meanwhile, Azumah Nelson has arrived in the United States to prepare for his first defence of the title he won from Wilfredo Gomez of Puerto Rico last December 8 in San Juan, and was scheduled to have defended it against Mexican Villasana last April in Los Angeles, but the fight was postponed indefinitely after the Ghanaian champion was admitted to a Los Angeles hospital suffering from appendicitis.
World Featherweight Champion, Azumah Nelson of Ghana.
Honours for best sportsmen
The annual "Africa's Best Sportsperson" ceremony for the award of two trophies donated by Zaire's President Sese Seko and Nigeria's Chief Moshood Abiola, comes up as from June 24 in Kinshasa.The award ceremony, expected to last six days, is being organised by the African Sports Journalists Union (ASJU) which has its headquarters in the Zairean capital.
According to the Union's Secretary General and Treasurer, Mr Kabala
Muana-Mbuyi, seven personalities who made their mark last expected to feature champion clubs year will be honoured at the ceremony expected to feature, among other things, an international cycling competition, an amateur boxing tourney, a soccer match, and a feminine handball competition.
The seven sports celebrities include Morocco's first time Olympic gold medalists, Said Aouita (5000m), and Nawal El Moutawakil (women's 400m hurdles); Kenya's Juluis Korir, Ivory Coast's Gabriel Tiacoh (Olympic 400m silver medallist), Ghana's Nelson Azumah (world featherweight champion), Sierra Leone's cyclist Joy 4. Pelman, and Cameroun's Thoephile Abega, voted Africa's footballer of the year.
Abega, the dazzling midfielder now playing professional soccer in France, captained the Cameroun "Indomitable Lions" to their first-ever Africa Nations Cup triumph in which they beat Nigeria 3-1 in the final in Abidjan.
Badminton
The Nigeria Badminton Association has named a team for the fourth world badminton championships taking place in Galgary, Canada.The team is led by Dr Femi Ashley- Dejo and includes national champion Samson Egbeyemi and national championship runner-up Tamuno Gibson.
Others are Benjamin Orakpo and Clement Ogbo. The ladies in the team are national champion Bridget Ubenero and Agatha Onuoha.
Women's basketball league
Winner of the National Women's Basketball League, scheduled to take place in Lagos from June 17 to June 22, will represent Nigeria at the 10th African Women's Championship next year. BasketballA statement from the Nigeria Amateur Basketball Association said this was clarification of earlier reports which said that the Bini Queens, winners of the Super Basketball League for women last month, had been chosen to represent the country. sports The women's basketball league is from each state of the federation. Messrs G.E. Anani and Taiwo Obileye have also been appointed match commissioners for the tourna- ment while seven referees have been selected to officiate in the tournament.
Three teams represent Nigeria
Three Nigerian junior handball teams will participate in world youth hand- ball tournaments taking place in Italy and Sweden between June 27 and JulyThe secretary of the National Hand- ball Association, Mrs Lanre Bakare, said that the Sokoto State under-14 team which won the Pastille Cup in Sweden last year would be the defend- ing champions.
Mrs Bakare said that the Kware State team which won the national championship last year would partici- pate as national champions.
Also the Borno boys and girls under-15 teams would compete in Teramo, Italy, where a youth competi- tion for 12, 15 and 18-year-olds is taking place, she added.
All the participating teams are being sponsored by their state governments.
