Boxing is no cakewalk! : Azumah 'Ring Professor' Nelson in the social history of Ghanaian boxing / De-Valera Nym Botchway.

Includes bibliographies and index.

Cover; Dedication; Title page; Copyright page; Contents; Acknowledgements; Foreword; Preface; Glossary of acronyms and abbreviations; List of figures; 1. Sports and modern boxing; Sports as elicitors of ambivalence; Sports, politics and society; An overview of ancient and modern 'English-style' boxing up to the twentieth century; The lacuna in Ghanaian historiography; Azumah Nelson: Boxing in Ghanaian identity and society; Propositions and interrogating the subject; Review of related literature; Sources and methods; Organisation of the book; Notes; 2. Roots of modern boxing in Ghana

Ga-Mashie and its assimilation of English-style boxing, c.1600 to c.1930sThe state of boxing in Ghana, c.1958 to c.1980; Notes; 3. Origins? 'I am the son of my people'; The beginning; Azumah Nelson: Birth and childhood days; The paternal and maternal ancestry of Azumah Nelson; Azumah Nelson's adolescence and gravitation towards boxing; Early glory: From the Prison Service Boxing Team to the Black Bombers, c.1974 to 1978; Concluding remarks; Notes; 4. The rise of the Azumah legend: The early years; Azumah Nelson ventures into professional boxing

The Golden Fleece: Azumah Nelson grabs the WBC Featherweight Title, 1984Defending his title and reputation, 1985 to 1987; Notes; 5. The legend continues: The glory years; Azumah Nelson graduates to the super-featherweight level; Rex of the super-featherweights; Azumah Nelson and the HIV saga, 1988; Still the champ: Will he stride into the lightweight division?; A wrong move? Pernell Whitaker beats Azumah Nelson, 1990; Azumah Nelson returns to rule the super-featherweights, 1990; A father and son affair: Azumah Nelson defeats Jeff Fenech, 1992

Azumah Nelson defends his title against Calvin Grove and Gabriel Ruelas, 1992-1993Adios Amigo! Azumah Nelson and Don King part ways; A contested draw, 1993; Rematch: Jesse J. Leija defeats Champ; Champ grabs the super-featherweight title from Gabriel Ruelas, 1995; Notes; 6. The beginning of the end: Retirement; Twilight: The Genaro Hernandez triumph, 1997; The disastrous return: Azumah Nelson fails to grab a lightweight title in 1998; Retirement and life after retirement; The controversial 'fund-raising' fight with Jeff Fenech, 2008; Reviewing the boxing brilliance of Azumah Nelson; Notes

7. More than pain and passion: Azumah Nelson's out-of-the-ring lifeWithout the gloves: A husband, father and family man; Outside the ring: A social activist and idol; Giving to society: The Azumah Nelson Foundation; Notes; 8. Conclusions; Notes; Appendix: Photographs; Bibliography; Index; Back cover

Boxing is no cakewalk! Azumah 'Ring Professor' Nelson in the Social History of Ghanaian Boxing explores the social history of boxing in Ghana and its interesting nexus with the biography of Azumah Nelson, unquestionably Ghana's most celebrated boxer. The book posits that sports constitute more than mere games that people play. They are endowed with enormous political, cultural, economic and social power that can influence people's lives in various ways. Boxing is no cakewalk! interrogates the social meaning and impact of boxing within the colonial and postcolonial milieux of popular culture in Ghana. Consequently, it reconsiders the prevailing conception of boxing as adversative to 'enlightened' human culture by arguing that it is a positive formulator of individual and national identities. The historicising of sports and the lives of sportspersons in Ghana provides an eloquent backdrop for an understanding of the past social dynamics and their effect in the present. The book's analytical narrative offers an intellectual contribution to the promising areas of social and cultural history in Ghana's historiography and the scholarly discourse on identity formation and social empowerment through the popular culture of sports.

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