Portable loses Okocha rematch at Lagos fight night

Street-pop singer Portable suffered his second defeat in the celebrity boxing ring inside three months on Friday, going down by disqualification to Nollywood actor Charles Okocha in a chaotic rematch that headlined the Chaos in the Ring fight night, which also produced several knockouts at the Balmoral Convention Centre, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, PidomNigeria Sports Extra reports.

The Okocha bout, tagged “Unfinished Business,” was billed as a rematch of the pair’s controversial first encounter, which Okocha had insisted was not fairly judged in Portable’s favour. Portable appeared to have the upper hand in the contest when the fight descended into a wrestling-like scuffle, with the referee unable to separate the pair.

The bell was rung to end the round, and security and bodyguards were called in to pull the fighters apart. Amid the chaos, Portable left the ring before the bout could be properly ruled over, prompting boos from fans in attendance, including those in the VIP seats who had come to watch the highly anticipated clash. He was eventually brought back to the ring, where he was disqualified.

Speaking backstage before the fight while holding his son, Portable had said, “I am not happy, but I want God to make me happy and my family.”

The defeat marks a second reversal of fortunes for the singer in the ring, having previously lost to Carter Efe by unanimous decision on May 1, at the same venue, in a bout televised on DAZN as part of the “Chaos in the Ring” franchise.

Elsewhere on the card, knockouts were the order of the night.

Basit Adebayo stopped Said Chino inside the distance, while Suleiman Jafaru knocked out Samuel Antwi in the sixth round.

In other results, Michael Babalola maintained his unbeaten record with a unanimous decision over Abidemi Rabiu across four rounds, Shiloh Defreitas outpointed Eric Quarm over six rounds, and Yusuf Adeniji got the better of Rilwan Lawal across eight rounds, also by unanimous decision.

The influencer bout between Idowest and Mr Real, who have long disputed ownership of the term “Legbègbe” on social media, ended in a draw.

The event, organised by promoter Ezekiel Adamu, had drawn massive attention ahead of the fights, with organisers saying the franchise has generated more than two billion video views and 4.2 billion digital impressions across previous editions.