All Eyes on Portable vs Okocha as Celebrity Boxing Match Holds Today

Nollywood actor Charles Okocha and street-pop singer Portable will face off in a celebrity boxing rematch on Friday at the Balmoral Convention Centre, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The contest, dubbed “Unfinished Business”, follows their previous bout in which Okocha claimed was unfairly decided in Portable’s favour.

The rivalry has escalated in the lead-up to the fight with the pair trading words during a number of face-offs, including the final weigh-in earlier this week.

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Tempers flared on both sides as both fighters traded fresh words ahead of the contest, after multiple face-offs, including the final weigh-in held this week.

“I’m gonna be going against Portable, and it’s gonna be chaos. Kill or be killed in that fight, I promise. Not by clamor and show. We are going to meet in the ring,” Okocha said.

He said he got into training camp not only because of Portable. “I do not need to train to meet Portable, but I went to train to prepare for some fights ahead of me as well because Portable is removable,” he said.

At the events, the theatrics-prone Portable lived up to his reputation, knocking over a table as he taunted Okocha and repeated the boasts he made ahead of his previous bouts.

“You whom I have beaten before, I will break your bones. “Fight is coming,” Portable said, insisting he was the better fighter and he would prove it again inside the ring.

The build-up to the fight, according to the organisers, has generated over two billion video views and 4.2 billion digital impressions across previous editions of the franchise, helping to raise the profile of Nigerian boxing.

The fight is unfinished business between the pair, said the promoter of the event, Dr Ezekiel Adamu, adding that Okocha had activated his rematch clause after feeling he was previously denied a fair platform and that Portable had accepted the challenge.

The card will also comprise an influencer fight between Mr Real and Idowest who have been disputing the ownership of the term “Legbègbe” on social media for long. Adamu said there would also be a professional bout between Yusuf Adeniji and Rilwan Lawal.

Adeniji, who said he spent more than three months at the camp, warned Lawal to get ready for a tough night, while Lawal dismissed the threat and said he would come out victorious.

Adamu disclosed that EV Automobiles had donated two brand-new electric vehicles as prizes for the winners, one for the Portable-Okocha and Mr Real-Idowest bouts, while Bet9ja joined EV Automobiles as one of the headline sponsors of the event.