my photo set from Bukom, Accra, Ghana. ©Mark Chilvers

1. GET PUNCHY
Easy like Monday morning
Two aspiring Ghanaian
boxers swing their way
A
T OF
through a morning session
IC
BOU
– working out first thing fires
FR
up your metabolism
82 MEN’S HEALTH MONTH 2007 menshealth.co.uk
A
A world away from the high-tech treadmills and pumping soundtracks of
our polished gym chains, Ghana’s modern warriors hone the bodies of world
champs with resources that make Rocky Balboa look like a prima donna.
Here’s how you can harness their fighting spirit to get into contender shape
Words Ryan Thompson Photography Mark Chilvers
menshealth.co.uk MONTH 2007 MEN’S HEALTH 83

2. If
GET PUNCHY
Ghana is the birthplace
of African boxing, you
could say that Bukom –
a coastal shantytown
in the capital, Accra – is
its womb. You wouldn’t
think it to look at these
corrugated homes, but
they have produced an
incredible number of
world champions. Names
such as Azumah Nelson,
Ike Quartey, Alfred Kotey and more recently
Joshua Clottey reverberate around the
sparsely kitted-out gyms on every other street
corner. Strolling around Bukom you see boys
striking battered bags hanging from makeshift
frames, occasionally skipping a step and
dropping a shoulder to evade a stray goat. L Sand, four stakes and some rope are enough to L Weights are weights Improving your
Boxing in Bukom goes back centuries,
says London-born filmmaker George
constitute a ring. Remember this resourcefulness strength and power is a matter of physics and
Amponsah, who spent years filming The when you’re next queuing for the crosstrainer hard work, not state-of-the-art equipment
Fighting Spirit, a documentary about the
town’s relationship with the sweet science. His
uncle, former three-time WBC featherweight
M When equipment is scarce shadow
champion Azumah ‘Boom Boom’ Nelson, boxing hones your technique and
is perhaps Bukom’s most idolised son.
“Bukom is predominantly inhabited by the
doubles as an excellent warm-up
Ga tribe and boxing has been part of the Ga’s
cultural tradition for hundreds of years,” says
Amponsah. “When not at sea, fishermen would
fight on the beach for recreation, as a way of
inducting outsiders into the tribe, or simply
to decide how to split the catch. Over time,
that mutated into boxing, and Bukom began
producing world champions.”
The first was Roy Accra. “He was promoted
as a symbol of emerging African pride,”
says Amponsah, and pride is one of the few
things the Ga have plenty of. “They’re not the
predominant tribe in Ghana by numbers, but
they feel they are the strongest. They’re very
proud of where they come from, so if some are
lucky enough to earn a boxer’s purse in the US,
they bring their money back and buy land.”
Boys in Bukom are encouraged to fight
from an early age. On fight nights, you
could well see two 10 year olds facing off
on the undercard. In the gyms, they throw L The brotherhood of the
combinations beneath the inspirational gazes
of their heroes, immortalised in posters on L Hand wraps and headgear gloves is strong in Bukom.
the walls. But Amponsah warns against over- are the luxury of the few in Fights make heroes, and
romanticising. “It’s easy to say boxing is in the
Ga’s blood, but when I was filming I realised Ghana. There’s nothing to stop heroes inspire hope in the
Bukom boxers are no different to boxers all you training without them town’s young warriors
over the world,” says Amponsah. “They’re
doing it for the money. But why not? Boxing is
something they’ve been brought up to do.”
L
84 MEN’S HEALTH APRIL 2010 menshealth.co.uk/fitness-muscle menshealth.co.uk/fitness-muscle APRIL 2010 MEN’S HEALTH 85

3. GET PUNCHY
ᮣ Square rings in Bukom are often drawn out
in the dusty streets, weather permitting. Here,
There are no Swiss balls in Bukom.
a boxing “gym” constitutes somewhere to Instead the local boxers fashion
their own multigyms from a flotilla
hang a punch bag and enough space for two
men to go toe to toe. Roof, ropes and canvas
are not prerequisites. From scarcity comes
invention; worn-out truck tyres half buried
in the sand become makeshift benches,
of tyres half buried in the sand
while ‘weights’ are a combination of anything
heavy enough and anything that’ll bear the
load. It’s Rocky played out for real, and a stark
reminder that no matter how technologically
advanced or expensive our training gear is
at home, spirited determination is the single
most important ingredient in achieving
your physical goals.
HARD KNOCK LIFE
Despite all the obvious talent, boxing is L Fishermen began boxing in the town of
Bukom’s second-class sporting citizen.
Football wins out by sheer economies of scale,
Bukom – fist-fighting on the beach for fish
absorbing the vast amount of government
funding and distributing it among the
ubiquitous soccer academies all looking
for the next Michael Essien. Where football
benefits from a salaried infrastructure,
boxing enjoys little such coordination.
“A ‘boxing coach’ in Bukom will have no formal
qualifications,” says Amponsah. “They often
just hang around the gyms and help out, carry
equipment or clean up and a few months later
they’re a coach. Plus, the lack of resources
means a lack of basic medical provisions.”
This is an issue, as sparring in Bukom is
like nothing you’ve ever seen. It’s no time
to be practising your hook or slipping your
opponent’s jab because every punch he
throws will be delivered with the aim of jarring
your brain into unconsciousness.“When you
see a sparring session you think ‘What the
hell’s going on here?’ It’s like a bare-knuckle L Get the most out of your resources
fight,” says Amponsah. “In sparring you’re
actually encouraged to knock someone out.”
A half tyre and soft, shifting sand add
One of the biggest obstacles to Bukom’s a gruelling twist to explosive squat jumps
aspiring champs isn’t in the gym or inside the
ropes, though, it’s on their plates. The right
nutrition is hard to come by on a regular basis,
no protein shakes on tap and two meals a day
are by no means guaranteed. Couple this with
the intense training and you have a recipe for
physical breakdown. The talented boxers hope
to be sponsored by the more affluent members
of the local community. “They give their
fighters the food to train properly in the hope
that a manager from the US will spot them,”
says Amponsah. “Then they will be sold on.”
So despite its heritage and glut of world
champions, Bukom’s boxers live a precarious
life. While a few from each generation take on
the world, most earn scraps from the national
boxing league, sponsored by an insect-
repellent. But while the contrast is great, the
stake is always the same – the pride of Bukom L The woodchop is a compound move that
and the Ga people. That is something to fight for. ᮣ can be performed with anything of weight
86 MEN’S HEALTH APRIL 2010 menshealth.co.uk menshealth.co.uk APRIL 2010 MEN’S HEALTH 87

4. GET PUNCHY
L Football and boxing both play roles in L If you were harbouring any misgivings L Local champions immortalised L The lure of the US is great Even a modest
this community. But the commercialism about the locals’ potential for pugilism, in posters and paint help to give the purse from an overseas fight can be more
of the former could KO the latter this man has just answered all of them boxing gyms competitive identities than 10 years’ worth of Bukom wages.
L Hanging up the gloves is a difficult L Men are not the only practitioners L Boxing murals cover many a wall in L A lack of equipment is no excuse from
proposition for fighters and many of boxing. Ghanaian ladies also aspire Bukom. This one celebrates Samuel Danso, training. Fighters achieve top conditioning
careers are extended for the worse to winning world titles Ghana’s superfeatherweight champ using only bodyweight moves
ROB MCCRACKEN IS PERFORMANCE DIRECTOR AT THE BRITISH AMATEUR BOXING ASSOCIATION (BABA) AND THE
From base metal to gold
Rob McCracken, performance director for the Great Britain boxing team tells you how to excel with the basics
TRAINER OF WBC SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION CARL FROCH, ILLUSTRATION JASON PICKERSGILL
Running is at the core of boxing You can reach close to your Where press-ups stress your arms, If you only have one piece of kit make
fitness – without it your ring strategy optimum level of strength and core and chest, use a simple pull-up it a skipping rope. You can fashion
is useless. Where steady road runs conditioning by performing the with variable grips to work your it out of any old bit of rope or cord.
were once the norm, now you should age-old press-up. It works all the entire back. Just find something Then it’s just a matter of practice.
mix up your routine. Incorporate hill muscles you need in boxing and to hang from. Simple. With these Use it as a warm-up tool, and to L It’s a simple mantra but it works. Apply L There is only one piece of equipment
sprints with 400m dashes within a
36-40 minute run and vary your rest
more if you vary them. Perform
them with elevated feet, one arm
two moves you will be able to
completely work your upper body
improve your coordination by
adding more complicated footwork
it to your own training and you’ll push you need to bring to this particular gym.
times. Keep your legs guessing. or explosive clap press-ups. without lifting a single weight. sequences as you improve. your boundaries while others capitulate It’s right there on the wall…
88 MEN’S HEALTH APRIL 2010 menshealth.co.uk/fitness-muscle menshealth.co.uk/fitness-muscle APRIL 2010 MEN’S HEALTH 89

5. GET PUNCHY
Fight nights in Bukom pop up all over the town , pitting men
and boys together from the local gyms. If they show promise,
they might be picked up by a ‘manager’ who can provide, at best,
a way into the national league; at worse, regular meals MH
90 MEN’S HEALTH MONTH 2007 menshealth.co.uk menshealth.co.uk MONTH 2007 MEN’S HEALTH 91