Nigerian light heavyweight Gabriel Oluwasegun Olanrewaju, who collapsed in the ring and later died at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana, on Saturday night, may have met his untimely death from an underlying condition, said Mohammed Amin Lamptey of the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA).

Lamptey told BoxingScene that the 40-year-old fighter was deemed fit by GBA medical officials to take on Ghanaian opponent Jon Mbanugu on the Imax Boxing Promotions’ Ghana Professional Boxing League card at the Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra.

“It was an unfortunate situation, and we’re very sad about what happened,” said Lamptey. “The paramedics at ringside did everything possible to save Olanrewaju’s life, but he passed on 3o minutes after being taken to the hospital. This is a moment of grief, and we call on the public to respect the family’s privacy at this crucial moment.”

Olanrewaju was said to have dominated the first two rounds of the scheduled eight-round bout before falling on the ropes without receiving punches from his opponent in round three. The incident forced referee Richard Amevi to halt the fight and call for medical assistance.

Ringside physicians and paramedics from the National Ambulance Service in Ghana tried to revive Olanrewaju before rushing him to the hospital.

Mbanugu, who was awarded a technical knockout victory, struggled to come to terms with what had happened to his opponent.

“I’m very excited for the win but I’m hoping and praying that he gets well,” Mbanugu said after the fight, before news came out that Olanrewaju had died. “We were both fighting and throwing punches, and along the line he fell on the ropes, but honestly I don’t know what happened. I wish him a speedy recovery.” 

Olanrewaju, 13-9-2 (12 KOs), of Lagos, Nigeria, came into the fight with Mbanugu, 14-1-1 (13 KOs), on the back of four consecutive defeats, including an eight-round decision loss to Idowu Rasheed in December. He was a former Nigeria national champion and West Africa light heavyweight champion.

“We reached out to the Nigeria Boxing Board of Control of the unfortunate incident before depositing the body at the mortuary for preservation,” Lamptey said. “We always ensure adequate medical facilities to avoid such incidents, and we are waiting on the autopsy report from the hospital to know exactly what caused his death.”

Meanwhile, the president of the Nigeria Boxing Board of Control, Dr. Rafiu Oladipo, has called for an investigation into Olanrewaju’s death, saying the fighter had no approval from his outfit to fight in the bout that led to his untimely death in Ghana.

Dr. Oladipo said Olanrewaju was approved to fight Mbanugu on Friday night in a card put together by Ace Power Promotions, but the bout could not happen due to financial disagreements.

“The deceased fighter was on his way back to Nigeria after the bout failed to take place on Friday, but he changed his mind and called the matchmaker to accept the money being offered to him,” Dr. Oladipo said in an interview with Ghana-based Sporty FM. “The question now is whether he was medically checked before the fight as required by law 24 hours to a bout.

“We need answers from the Ghana Boxing Authority over how this young boxer died. The whole Nigeria boxing fraternity has been thrown into mourning because Olanrewaju left for Ghana to look for money to take care of his family.”

Various media reports in Nigeria corroborate Dr. Oladipo’s account, suggesting that Olanrewaju’s decision to go back for the fight on Saturday was for money after his Ghanaian opponent Mbanugu was found to be overweight. The reports added that Olanrewaju was offered a $500 increase to face Mbanugu, which he initially rejected. 

Upon reaching the Aflao border in Ghana, Olanrewaju decided to go back for the money rather than return to Nigeria empty-handed.

Responding to these allegations, Lamptey confirmed that the fight was initially scheduled for Friday but denied any wrongdoing on the part of the GBA. He said that the Nigeria Boxing Board of Control approved Olanrewaju to fight in Ghana, and rescheduling the bout to the following day wouldn’t have been a problem if not for the tragedy.

“The Nigeria Boxing Board of Control has the right to shift blame because of the unfortunate incident that happened, but the most important thing is that they approved the deceased boxer to fight in Ghana,” Lamptey said. “We believe this should be a wake-up call for the GBA to improve on its ringside medical facilities.

“We need to make frantic efforts to stop such tragedies from happening, but the GBA can’t do it alone. The boxers must be educated to take very good care of themselves by maintaining good diet and ensuring good health. This is very important in every sportsman and woman’s life, and I entreat all of them to take it serious.”