Joy Sports Editor, Nathaniel Attoh has defended referee Fred Ghartey's decision by to intervene in Saturday night’s fight to allow Bukom Banku seek treatment from his doctor before allowing the fight to continue.

Mr Attoh who is also a boxing analyst said the referee's decision was appropriate considering the time. 

Referee Ghartey drew the attention of Banku’s medical team after he took a devastating blow from Bastie Samir in round 7, causing his right eye to bleed.

Banku's eye was checked and briefly treated by his doctor before he returned to continue the fight but he only lasted a few seconds after Bastir continued the assault on him and eventually knocking him out of the ‘Make or Break’ bout.

His wobbling legs could no longer support him and the famous local boxer kissed the ground, causing referee Ghartey to stop the fight, recording a major win for Bastir.

Although fans of the new ‘Boxing Kid’, Bastie, were happy he won, they were enraged by referee Ghartey’s sudden intervention, describing it as unfair refereeing.

Coach of Bastie, Ofosu Asare on Monday told Kojo Yankson, host of the Super Morning Show on Joy FM, he was taken aback by the decision which he said could have worked against his boxer.

“What happened was a surprise to me…I didn’t know why he was doing that,” he complained.

The Coach also accused the referee of attempting to frustrate his camp “right from the beginning of the fight.” 

“His [Ghartey’s] attitude from the beginning of the fight was surprising to me,” the trainer said.

But responding to the accusation on the show, Nathaniel Attoh, who was also Ring Announcer on the night, said he noticed the agitations but added that the referee took a decision that best suited the situation at the time.

“What happened was that the boxer [Samir] was staging an attack on his opponent [Banku] and everyone expected that you leave it so that we follow the regular sequence” the analyst noted.

He said he had no doubt that “the exercise of discretion could have gone either way,” if Bastie was in the same situation.

A new Idol

Coach Ofosu Asare praised his boxer for heeding to his advise and following their game plan, which eventually resulted in a win for them. 

Bastie Samir

“I know what he can do…he needs only to be trained properly because when he goes through the proper scientific training he can respond,” the Coach stated.

He said Samir represents the “new boxing idol” the country had been waiting for, stressing celebrated Bukom Banku has had a lot of disciplinary issues which have led to many people losing respect for the game.

“You need to have a respectable image…people must look up to you [boxer],” he advised.