Amir Khan Takes African Boxing Mainstream With Historic Knockout Nigeria Card
December 21 will host a world-class heavyweight double-header in Lagos, Nigeria, organised by a former super-lightweight world champion turned promoter. Amir Khan has delivered exactly what he promised when he relaunched AK Promotions earlier this year, bringing elite boxing to Africa with the kind of talent that would draw interest anywhere on the planet.
Chaos In The Ring II
The headliner features Lawrence Okolie, the WBC number one heavyweight contender, making his first professional fight on African soil against Ghana’s Ebenezer Tetteh. Okolie, born in London to Nigerian parents, carries genuine significance to this fight beyond the rankings.
The 33-year-old captured the WBO cruiserweight title in 2021 with a sixth-round demolition of Krzysztof Glowacki at Wembley, successfully defending it multiple times before moving through the bridgerweight division en route to heavyweight. At 22-1 with 16 knockouts, his current WBC ranking puts him one step closer to a world title shot in 2026. Tetteh, meanwhile, recently spent seven rounds trading heavy shots with Dillian Whyte in Gibraltar and holds a 23-3 record with 20 knockouts. The Ghanaian veteran enters as durable opposition, the kind of test that measures where Okolie genuinely stands among the heavyweight elite.
Knockout Nigeria
Amir Khan explained:
“I’ve fought all over the world, but this Lagos card is special. Okolie headlining Africa for the first time, Tony Yoka bringing heavyweight fire, Harley Benn stepping up to the big stage, and Detty December behind us – We’re giving fans a night they’ll never forget.”
Lawrence Okolie added:
“Fighting in Lagos means everything to me. This is where my family is from. This is the dream. On 21 December, under the Detty December lights, I’m putting on a show you won’t forget.”
The co-main event brings Tony Yoka back into significant action. The French southpaw won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics over Joe Joyce in the super-heavyweight division, becoming France’s first ever Olympic champion in that weight class. Now 33 and sitting at 14-3 with 11 knockouts, Yoka faces German veteran Patrick “Big Patrick” Korte across ten rounds. Korte carries a 23-5-1 record with 19 knockouts and boasts the kind of European credentials that make him no curiosity act.
Below them sits the undercard. Elvis Ahorgah, the Ghanaian “Soldier” who became a cult hero in the UK after a late-notice stand against unbeaten Callum Simpson where he pushed the Barnsley prospect hard before a fifth-round stoppage, takes on Harley Benn at super-middleweight. Benn, carrying the weight of boxing royalty as son of two-time world champion Nigel Benn and half-brother to Conor Benn, faced a complicated path into boxing. Conor, though, just settled his own family business by dominating Chris Eubank Jr in their November rematch at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, earning a unanimous decision with two knockdowns in the process, so the Benn name carries momentum.
Shiloh Defreitas, an undefeated London southpaw with Olympic ambitions, puts his 6-0 record on the line against Nigeria’s Taye Fajimi, who enters at 10-0 with four knockouts. Two all-Nigerian six-round clashes flesh out the card: undefeated lightweight Basit Adebayo meets Nigeria’s number one ranked lightweight Sikiru Shogbesan in a guaranteed opener, while Isaac Chukwudi takes on the undefeated Raheem Animashaun. Female prospect Nene Joy Ojo faces Sandra Darkwah Boateng in a four-round bout that highlights emerging talent.
The event forms part of Detty December, West Africa’s biggest month-long cultural festival running through December 31, adding genuine scale to Khan’s ambitions. Broadcast worldwide on DAZN, it marks Khan’s second AK Promotions show following his Ghana card in June. The move into promotion comes as Khan enters his fourth decade of involvement in boxing after retiring from fighting in 2022.
CEO of Balmoral Group Promotions, Dr Ezekiel Adamu, said: “This card is here to make a statement. Africa is ready to host the biggest nights in world boxing, and Chaos In The Ring II is proof.”
