Five Top Boxing Talents from GOtv Boxing Night 

In the sports community, the GOtv brand is a household name, recognized as a major promoter of sports and a platform for talent development in Nigeria. GOtv recently sponsored the Naija Super 8 football tournament, solidifying its presence among sports enthusiasts in Nigeria. One of its prominent contributions to the Nigerian sports scene is the GOtv Boxing Night, a premier boxing event in Africa that has served as a catalyst for the rise of local boxing talents.

Having hosted 29 previous editions, GOtv Boxing Night has become a springboard to fame for local boxing talents in Nigeria In addition to the boxing fest, the Mojisola Ogunsanya Memorial Boxing Gym, funded by Mr. Adewunmi Ogunsanya, Chairman of MultiChoice Nigeria, offers top-notch facilities for the training and nurturing of local boxers.

Here, we take a look at some talent who have who have flourished on the GOtv Boxing stage:

Olaide Fijabi ‘Fijaborn’: As a light welterweight boxer, “Fijaborn” announced himself on the African boxing scene by defeating Kazeem “Iberu” Ariyo via unanimous decision at GOtv Boxing Night in July 2015, earning him N1 million. He later won the West African Boxing Union Super Lightweight title in December 2016, and African Boxing Union light welterweight title in 2017. Fijabi lost his shot at a world title, after losing to Lee McAllister in their TWBO Inter-Continental welterweight title bout in 2022, but his ascent in Nigeria’s boxing scene remains one of the most captivating tales of GOtv Boxing Night.

Rilwan “Real One” Oladosu: In 2017, this lightweight boxing star won N2.5 million cash prize attached to the Mojisola Ogunsanya Memorial Trophy.

Four years later, he became a world champion by defeating Emmanuel ‘Akufo Addo’ Quartey of Ghana with a ninth-round knockout to become the WBF world super featherweight champion at GOtv Boxing Night 22. He’s proudly a beneficiary of the GOtv Boxing’s investment in young local boxers.

Rilwan Babatunde ‘Babyface’:

Leveraging the GOtv Boxing Night stage, ‘Babyface’ emerged through the GOtv Boxing NextGen Search.  In February 2015, GOtv Boxing Night launched the GOtv Boxing NextGen Search, to discover amateur boxers promising enough to be absorbed into the professional ranks. Babyface was one of those shortlisted for the training, from the 100 talents who applied. After making his professional debut later that year, he went on to win national and sub-regional titles, claiming the best boxer prize at GOtv Boxing Night 11, 14, and 21.

Otto Joseph ‘Joe Boy’: This hard-punching boxer held national titles for many years, and remains one of the finest boxers to have emerged from Nigeria. His story would not be complete without the mention of GOtv Boxing Night.  In May 2017, Oto “Joe Boy” Joseph, emerged the National Lightweight boxing champion after defeating Nurudeen “Prince” at the GOtv Boxing Night 7. A few months later, Joe Boy knocked out Abdulrahim Ahmed of Egypt to win the Africa Boxing Union lightweight title, at the 13th edition of GOtv Boxing Night.

Taiwo Agbaje ‘Esepor’: Arguably the biggest product of GOtv Boxing Night, Esepor rose to stardom by making the premier boxing event his stomping ground. Esepor currently holds two titles: he is the reigning West African Boxing Union (WABU) featherweight champion and also the World Boxing Federation (WBF) Intercontinental featherweight champion. He won both titles on the GOtv Boxing Night stage. Esepor fulfilled his dream on December 26, 2022, when he defeated his Filipino opponent, Richard Taruc Pumicpic by a technical knockout in the 7th round to become a world champion, at GOtv Boxing Night 27.  The talented boxer is currently based in London and is one of the fastest-rising boxing talents in the world.