When news filtered through recently about Ghana’s boxing legend Azumah Nelson returning to the ring after a decade’s absence many boxing fans doubted the veracity of the news. Many lovers of the fistic sport especially fans of Azumah believe strongly that the one time long reigning world champion has had such an illustrious career that it would be unwise to return to the ring at the age of 49.

And so you can imagine the uproar in boxing circles when Azumah confirmed the story that he was actually going back into the ring to fight his old foe Australian Fenech in Melbourne on June 24th. It is learnt that some close friends have tried to dissuade him from fighting again but if you know Azumah well as I do he has a real stubborn character and in his own words “we know no surrender in our family”.

Indeed this is the exact phrase he used when 29 years ago in 1979 when I tried to advise him to drop his plan to turn professional. I was then Sports Editor of the mass circulation newspaper The Daily Graphic and Azumah accompanied by a young man he introduced as an uncle wanted a publication announcing his intention to join the paid ranks.

Azumah had in the year before been honoured as the nation’s best sporting discovery having won gold medals in the featherweight division at both the Africa Games in Algiers and the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton,Canada.

My advice that he should stay an amateur till after the 1980 Moscow Olympics where he would have a wider exposure felt on death ears and he left my office with the message that "we know no surrender in our family". The story was published,Azumah became a pro and the rest they say is history. Suffice to say that Ghana boycotted the Moscow Olympics in solidarity with the US and some African countries for political reasons.I had to concede that Azumah had his premonitions right.

True to his unbending fighting spirit Azumah took the boxing world by storm and within three years 1982 to be precise, he had a shot at the world title He was matched against the sensational Mexican Salvador Sanchez at the famous Madison Square Gardens in New York. Ringsiders said Azumah put up a courageous fight but his inexperience cost him as he unwisely engaged in a dangerous toe to toe with the iron fisted Mexican and eventually he had to be saved by the referee towards the end of the 15 round grueling contest.

After this baptism of fire Azumah gained international recognition and after a couple of warm up fights including an eliminator against Mexican Cortez he got a shot at the world featherweight crown again and completely outclassed Wilfredo Gomez of Puerto Rico in front of a packed home crowd in San Juan in 1984. For the next decade and a half he met all the tough nuts in the featherweight division- Martinez, Pat Cowdell, Marco Villassana, Suarez .etc. He then moved to the super featherweight class where he encountered tough nuts like Fenech, Grove, Gabriel Ruelas, James Leija, Genaro Hernadez etc.Infact it was his loss to Hernandez in Texas in 1997 that hastened his departure from the ring.

After assisting young boxers to polish their talents in his, first class gym at his New Achimota residence in the capital of Accra, Australian protégé Jeff Fenech has succeeded to lure him back into the ring for what is being dubbed a grudge fight.

This is the third encounter between the two fighters. The first encounter was a draw and Azumah convincingly won the return via 11th round knock out. Its almost a decade since that scintillating fight in Australia and the boxing world would be anxious to see whether the two former good punchers still have some venom left in their blows.

My bet is on Azumah to make it a night to remember with the conviction that the man knows no surrender.