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“in Readiness.” All photos by Paul Salveson, courtesy of the artist and Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, shared with permission
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the Bukom neighborhood of Accra, Ghana’s capital, produced several champion boxers—including Roy Ankrah, Azumah Nelson, and Ike Quartey—and their records drew international fame, money, and prestige that helped to secure the area as a hub for the sport.
As scholar Emmanuel Akyeampong details in an insightful essay, boxing rose to popularity in the mid-20th century as tensions between Ghanaians and English colonizers intensified. Lower classes had previously taken up asafo atwele, organized group tournaments that prized “winning in style,” but after the British banned the activity around 1935, many fighters transitioned to state-sanctioned Western boxing. Because the latter sport pits single opponents against one another, it’s come to symbolize the possibility that individual self-determination and strength can lead to a life of glory and wealth.
“Victory Pose”
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