Boxing: Gobe Allou to set up international academy
Boxing: Gobe Allou is to set up an international academy, reports Sport News Africa
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Giving back to boxing what boxing gave him over 38 years: that, in a nutshell, is the ambition of Gobe Allou, who plans to open an international boxing academy. The announcement was made on 25 April 2023 at a press conference in Abidjan. The former heavyweight, an Ivorian champion in the 80s and a French champion, wants to leave a legacy, saying: "There is no longer any trace of us on search engines." Through the academy, he also wants to pass on to future champions of the noble art everything he learned over some thirty years. "I'm a trainer myself in France. Africa is a reservoir of talent and it's important that we go out and find those talents. You don't buy talent, you make it. And that's what I intend to do with this academy," said the former puncher.
Asked about how the international institute would be funded, Gobe Allou has a fair idea of the answer."I have a strategy to bring in money. And I wouldn't be standing in front of you if I hadn't found the solution to the funding question. Just bear in mind that I have Moroccan and Tunisian partners." Two gala dinners, in Paris and in Abidjan, will be held in December to raise funds. The academy will include a secondary school (lycée) named after the legend Mohamed Ali, a sports clinic, residences and a Central Boxing.
Kader G