Nigeria vanquished its defeat in last year's annual boxing tournament with Ghana by winning six of the 11 bouts in this year's match in Lagos, Nigeria, on Saturday (December 5).

The two teams of boxers, ranging from light flyweights to heavyweights, gathered in the ring before the first bouts. The captains exchanged pennants watched by the crowds and teams -- the Ghanians dressed in lighter coloured shirts with dark hoops and their opponents in dark shirts.

The Ghanaian squad of 11 boxers and three officials arrived in Lagos on Thursday (December 3). The team included welterweight Flash Emma, Commonwealth Games gold medallist, and light welterweight Jack Sennas, a Commonwealth Games bronze medallist. Boxing for Nigeria was featherweight Commonwealth Games gold medallist Abayomi Adeyemi.

In the featherweight bout, Nigerian Eddie Ndukwu outpointed Joe Coffie. Both boxers started slowly but moved into top gear in the second round. Coffie tried to slug it out but Ndukwu shoed greater skill and emerged a clear winner.

Salisu Yusuf lost the middleweight match for Nigeria when he was beaten by Prince Amartey. The Ghanaian was a clear winner, forcing Yusuf to retreat from the very start. Yusuf tried hard to parry and follow through with a straight to the jaw, but by the end of the bout he was a tired man.

In their narrow victory, the Nigerians took the light-flyweight, flyweight, featherweight, lightweight, light-welterweight and light-heavyweight bouts.