Former WBO bantamweight champion Alfred 'Cobra' Kotey has stated emphatically that he still has what it takes to ascend the throne as a World champion. "I am still strong, the skill and the brains are still functioning, and with a little effort, I can reclaim my lost fortune," the boxer told Charles Osei Asibey on Happy FM's ''Where are they?” programme Thursday. Cobra has, however, revealed that times are really hard for him currently, and he is therefore appealing to the sporting fraternity to rally behind him financially, to get back to the ring in style. He said things have gone sour after his return from the United States of America three years ago, and it took the financial intervention of Nii Lamptey Vanderpuiye to sometimes pay the school fees of his kids. "When I was financially okay, I rise from bed to meet people at my gate looking for all kinds of financial assistance, but the reverse is the case at the moment," added the former World champion. According to Cobra, he has engaged those who have knowledge about the sport about his comeback campaign, but all had fallen on deaf ears, saying "It is the lay people who have rather expressed interest to help me." Kotey, who represented Ghana at the 1988 Summer Olympics, noted that he has been training on the quiet, despite several discouraging words that he is ageing and has gone past his prime as a boxer. The boxer revealed that the sport that used to be vibrant is taking a nosedive, and he blamed it on lack of discipline on the part of most of the up-and-coming boxers. He rose to stardom from July 1994 to October 1995, losing his title to Peuto Rican, Daniel Jimenez Roman, who defended it once and lost it to Robie Regan. Source: The Chronicle