Aryeetey wins 60-54 as Laryea, Tagoe suffer Ghana boxing setbacks

Mohammed “Golden Star” Aryeetey beat Johnny Paredes by unanimous decision in Maryland, with the judges scoring the bout 59-55, 60-54 and 60-55. The result lifted the Ghanaian’s professional record to 12-1-1, including eight knockouts, and gave him a second successive victory in the United States.

Aryeetey controlled his fourth fight on American soil and handed Paredes the first defeat of his professional career. The success also marked a strong response to his earlier results in the country, where he drew in 2022 before losing in 2023. Aryeetey won gold at the Accra 2023 African Games.

Ghanaian boxing had a less positive night elsewhere. John “The Expensive Boxer” Laryea lost for the first time as a professional after being disqualified in the ninth round of his WBA featherweight world-title eliminator against Argentina’s Adrian Maximiliano Robledo in Buenos Aires.

Laryea had been knocked down in the fifth round and lost a point in the seventh. The official scoring record also noted two headbutts from the Ghanaian that did not result in punishment. After two low blows in the ninth went unpenalised, another low blow led Puerto Rican referee Janny Guzman to stop the contest and disqualify Laryea.

The defeat ended Laryea’s unbeaten record and removed his route to a possible WBA title opportunity. Ghanaian football legend Asamoah Gyan was present at ringside. Laryea’s manager, Sammy Anim Addo, described the result as a setback and said the team would return to work before seeking another chance.

Emmanuel “Game Boy” Tagoe’s scheduled contest in Atlanta was cancelled before he entered the ring against unbeaten American Ernesto “Tito” Mercado. Tagoe weighed 150 pounds for a bout contracted at 140, and negotiations to revise the terms failed, taking the WBO International super lightweight contest off the DAZN undercard.

The cancellation disappointed the 37-year-old former IBO world champion, who had viewed the 24-year-old Mercado as the type of opponent he wanted at this stage of his career. Aryeetey’s victory therefore stood as Ghana’s main positive result during a weekend marked by Laryea’s disqualification and Tagoe’s failed contest.