- The young girl revealed that her father encouraged and enrolled her in an academy after discovering her love for the combat sport.
In recent times, parents have started to allow their kids to practice one form of sporting activities or the other.
Sports like football, basketball, table tennis, badminton and others have kids actively involved in them.
However, combat sports such as judo, karate and boxing seem to be a no-go-area for kids.
Yet, in this genre of sports, kids are already becoming active participants.
On a visit to the National Stadium, Surulere, at the Bomba Boxing Academy, Sports Extra met a 10-year-old girl, Aliyah Sheriff, who was engrossed in a punching session with a sandbag.
Sheriff, a Primary 5 pupil of Our Lady of The Lord Nursery and Primary School, Iponri Estate, Surulere said that she enjoys boxing as a sport.
“I like the way people fight in the ring and also the sport has produced so many great names among which are Muhammed Ali, Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis and others,” she stated.
The young girl revealed that her father encouraged and enrolled her in an academy after discovering her love for the combat sport.
“I came on a visit to the National Stadium with my father and I saw kids that were my age mates punching the sandbag and I knew I could do this.
“In fact, it was the coach who finally told my father that if I was interested in the sport, then he should let me come to training and that he would turn me to a world champion.
“That’s was how I started to train in the boxing academy and the coach has been very helpful,” she told Sports Extra.
On his part, Sheriff’s coach, Oladipupo Israel, proprietor of Bomba Boxing Academy, hailed the girl for her boxing skills, tipping her for greatness.
“Sheriff is champion material. She is very serious with her training and we would soon register her for the Hall of Fame challenge which is coming up very soon. I know she will give a good account of herself in the ring.”
It seems the exploits of tennis siblings’ Serena and Venus Williams has rubbed off on Sheriff as she reveals her innermost desire to be a champion just like the Williams’ sisters did in the world of tennis.
“I see women engage in sports like this and they become champion. The Williams sisters are one of such.
“I want to become a champion like them. I want to go far with boxing,” Sheriff added.
