WBO African rep named in dupe scandal In an interview with nigeriasports.com shortly on return from his fighting trip to Australia recently, Onikeke stated that, he was confronted by the Promoter of his aborted 2003 bout on his (the Australian’s) bill, after collecting the sum of Ten Thousand, Two Hundred US Dollars ($10,200 USD) from him. “The problem is that in 2003, I met Irene Cole, who promised to manage me and to start with, she told me that she had got me a fight in Australia. She collected money from the Australian Promoter and after procuring a visa for me, I could not see her again for my ticket fare,” Onikeke narrated to us. That was in year 2003. When Onikeke travelled to Australia this year to keep a date with a Thai opponent, whom he knocked-out in the first round, he met his 2003 supposed bout Promoter eyeball-to-eyeball and he went on again: “When I arrived Australia this year, the 2003 bout Promoter confronted me and accused me of sharing the money, $10,200 with Irene Cole without honouring the date. I told him that I did not share any money with Irene Cole and that I did not even know that he sent her money. “So, Promoter Morris Thompson gave me a letter for Irene Cole and asked her to send him his money. He even said that he will write to Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja, Nigeria to appeal to her to pay him back his money.” According to the boxer, Thompson has threatened that, if he failed to get back his money, he would have nothing to do with Nigerian boxers and Promoters anymore. “He promised assisting Nigerian boxers if he could get back his money from Irene Cole,” Onikeke disclosed. Accused WBO officer denies dupe allegation Irked by the indefinite mileage her $10,200 dupe scandal could go in the media, Irene Cole, who until her appointment as World Boxing Organization (WBO) African representative, worked for Boxing One Network Promotions in the US, has come out with a counter-punch…”I did not collect money from anybody. The accusation is false.” Irene Cole did not stop at just dismissing the accusation with the wave of her hand. She, in her self defence, went further to explain the circumstances which surrounded Boxer Onikeke’s aborted fight trip to Australia: “Okay, when I came to Nigeria, I was invited to the WBC Convention as a guest…emm… and that was the first time I met Fatai Onikeke and people appealed to me that, he was a good boxer and that I should help out, which I did. “I contacted my people in Australia; the Promoter sent an invitation letter. We as awhole, pulled our resources together to make sure that, he got a visa and was prepared to travel.” Cole pursed awhile before continuing: “In between his application for visa…as you all know, I travel a lot, so I had gone back to the US hoping that ther was enough people here that would assist him. When Fatai got that visa, he took it and just went home and relaxed. “About a month or so later, I ended up calling; what’s going on? Didn’t they give you the visa,? And so on. He said; “yeah” they gave him and I was excited and called the Promoter; okay, your boy is ready to go. And then, we found out that his visa was…em, a short-term one and he should have let us know ahead of time,” Cole narrated. The lady went on to express how disappointed she felt, heaping the blames for the boxer’s failed trip to Australia on Trigo Egbegi and Mr. Adeboye both Secretary-General and President of the Nigerian Boxing Board of Control (NBB of C) respectively. She also told nigeriasports.com that, both men and the boxer profusely apologised to her and she in turn, had to apologise to the Australian Promoter, who was not happy because he had Fatai Onikeke on his bill. “There is no such thing as me taking people’s dollars…I don’t take people’s money. They just want to smear my name. You know, there is a stage one gets to and people want to smear you…throw eggs, throw tomatoes on you... so, I ‘m just accepting it like that,” she claimed. And on a final note, Irene Cole declared: “Let anyone, who said he gave me money, come up with proofs. At least there must be documentations when money exchanges hands and as to what it is all about.” 0
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