Reigning Nigerian and West African light heavyweight champion Lekan Muibi has thrown down the gauntlet to newly crowned WBO Africa cruiserweight champion Godday Appah, declaring his intention to move up a division and become a two-weight champion.
Muibi, nicknamed “The Engine” and boasting a perfect record of 20 fights, 20 wins and 19 knockouts, issued the challenge publicly on Monday, accusing Appah of having previously ducked a fight with him before claiming his title.
Appah won the WBO Africa cruiserweight belt on May 1 in Lagos, stopping fellow Nigerian Ezra Arenyeka via majority decision over 10 rounds to improve his record to 15 wins, two losses and 13 knockouts.
Muibi said the victory changes nothing about his assessment of his rival.
“I want to move up to cruiserweight. I’ve cleaned out my division. All possible challengers here in Nigeria and West Africa are too scared to face me, so I’ve run out of opponents,” he said.
“It’s just a five-kilogram difference. It’s an easy jump to make. And as a matter of fact, I specifically want to face Godday Appah. Earlier this year, he called me out on Instagram, saying all kinds of stuff. And when my management tried to make the fight, he ducked and ran like a coward. He took the easier option of fighting Ezra Arenyeka for the WBO Africa cruiserweight belt.
“Congratulations to him on the win. But now I’m coming for him. If he has the balls, he should stop running and face me in the ring.
I will break him down and take his title from him. God willing, I’m going to stop him and become a two-division champion.”
Muibi’s trainer, Monsuru Kilani, who goes by the name Coach Confidence, was equally bullish about his fighter’s chances.
“We will beat him. I’m 100 per cent sure of it. Lekan is no ordinary fighter. He’s too strong, too talented, too ferocious and too relentless,” Kilani said.
“I’m a man of few words. But I will say this: if Zod has the balls to accept the challenge, I promise he will face the biggest challenge of his career. We will stop him and take his belt. It’s not a promise. It’s a guarantee.”
The challenge comes on the back of a memorable period for Lagos boxing. On April 26, city rivals Taiwo Agbaje and Tosin Osaigbovo drew a record crowd for their vacant WBA Africa lightweight title bout, with Agbaje claiming the belt via unanimous decision after 10 rounds of an all-action contest.
All eyes now turn to Appah to see whether he will accept Muibi’s challenge.
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