Ebenezer Kolebe, an unbeaten Bukom-trained bantamweight boxer nicknamed “The Ring Master,” faces Isaac Aryeetey on Saturday at the Homowo FightFest in Abelemkpe.
Kolebe grew up in Gbese, part of the densely populated Ga Mashie area better known as Bukom, where boxing runs through daily life as both sport and livelihood. He came up through the national youth team, the Black Rockets, before turning professional. Now 22, he trains at Seconds Out Gym in Accra under coaches Darko Rickketts, Joseph Martey and Daniel Aryee Quaye, known as “Danny,” and is managed by PKO Boxing. He carries a record of three knockout wins and one draw into Saturday’s bout.
Kolebe calls himself “a champion without a crown,” saying titles will come at the right time rather than through rushing his career. He wants boxing to reach beyond its Bukom stronghold into other parts of the country, arguing the sport travels well and draws crowds wherever it goes.
Saturday’s card at the Abelemkpe School Park is part of a wider push by PKO Boxing and the PKO Foundation to expand the sport’s footprint, an effort that has drawn the backing of Ga King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II and is expected to create jobs for more than 100 young people from the Ga community around the event.
“I am most grateful to Dr. Osei and all the staff who inspire me as well as my gym mates for their cooperation and especially my trainers. God richly bless them,” Kolebe said.
