jamal 
BY ABUSOLA TEMITOPE JOHNSON
Anyone who was alive in the ’80s, will easily remember the name, Charles Nwokolo.
In those roaring days of Nigerian boxing, the name Nwokolo rang more than a million bells as it reverberated across the boxing world.
Nwokolo belonged to the golden age of Nigerian boxing when the country’s boxers dominated the continent, and the Commonwealth and also hold their own on the global stage.
As an amateur boxer between 1980 and 1984, Nwokolo won laurels and honours for Nigeria.
He won medals at the All Africa Games, the Commonwealth Games and the Commonwealth Championships.
On the domestic front, Nwokolo ruled the welterweight class with a dictatorial iron fist forcing many boxers in that weight category into premature retirement.
In the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Nwokolo was a member of Nigeria’s dream team which included Peter Konyegwachi who got silver in the Games, Jerry Okorodudu, Christopher Ossai and others.
His storied career continued when he joined the Pro ranks in 1985.
Nwokolo’s sojourn in the pro class was also loaded with accomplishments which many boxers could then only dream of.
In just two years, he had annexed the National, West African, African and Commonwealth titles.
By the time, Nwokolo moved to the United States of America in search of the Golden Fleece in 1986, he was already one of boxing’s hottest box-office attractions.
He was highly sought after by big-time promoters who engaged him to add extra panache to their blockbuster shows.
Nwokolo was a regular feature at the iconic boxing venues; Cesar’s Palace in Las Vegas and The Forum in Los Angeles.
After a fruitful career, he set up his Tiger Boxing Gym in 2006.
From its humble beginning, the Tiger Boxing Gym has blossomed into a stable where champions are made.
With this resounding success, it was logical to expect Charles Nwokolo’s sons to take to the sport that brought their father fame and fortune.
That expectation would not have been out of place for Charles Nwokolo himself.
Indeed it was his wish to have his boys take after him so as to have a successful boxing dynasty like the champions of old.
The elder of the two sons Cyprian did take after him and has made a success story out of the noble art of self-defence.
Today he has a flourishing gym in Melbourne, Australia where he is grooming champions.
However, Emeka, the younger of the two sons simply resisted being seduced by the ring achievements of his father.
Perhaps he didn’t want to exist in his father’s shadow.
He opted for football. Interestingly, he made a mark in the round leather game.
Emeka was a budding soccer star in Nigeria having distinguished himself playing youth football in Benin City, where he was raised.
Determined to carve a niche for himself in football, Emeka migrated to the United States in 2016 to join his father and pursue a professional career.
But Providence aborted his football plans when he suffered a nasty ankle injury.
Providence had a different plan for the budding soccer star.
Though he assisted his father in the Gym by holding the mitts for him, he didn’t for a moment consider boxing.
But Providence delivered its decision.
It was a rainy, wet and cold night sometime in 2019. Emeka was out in his car in Los Angeles.
The youngster’s car plunged off a cliff into a ravine several metres below.
Emeka who was trapped in the car had to fight his way out of the car and grapple at even straw on his way back to the mountain top.
Miraculously Emeka came out of the vehicle without barely a scratch.
