Former national champion Michael “One Bullet” Ansah will fight Michael Pappoe for the inaugural Prof. Azumah Nelson Champion Emeritus World Super Featherweight Championship on Easter Saturday, April 4, 2026, at the Aborigines Beach Resort in Keta, Volta Region, with the boxing legend himself expected ringside.
The all-Ghanaian Super Featherweight headliner was finalised after Ezekiel Annan withdrew from the original matchup, with Ansah stepping in to face Pappoe for the maiden title dedicated to Africa’s most celebrated boxer.
Two further world-rated contests will complete the bill. Ghanaians Saviour Gad and Eliasu Sulley meet for the vacant WABA Supreme Global Super Middleweight Championship, while Ghana’s Abubakar Mubarak takes on Beninese fighter Justin Hounkpevi for the vacant WABA Supreme World Super Middleweight title.
The Champion Emeritus designation is a permanent honour WABA has established to carry Nelson’s name through active professional competition. WABA President Col. Onesmo Alfred McBride Ngowi described the tribute as rare, noting that it is uncommon for living former champions to have championship belts created in their honour, and said the association wanted to set a standard for others to follow.
The event will be integrated into the annual Easter cultural celebrations in the Keta region, with WABA indicating the intention to make the Supreme Championship a recurring feature of the festivities going forward.
Nelson, now 67, held the World Boxing Council (WBC) Featherweight title from 1984 to 1987 and the WBC Super Featherweight title twice across 1988 to 1997, finishing his professional career with a record of 39 wins, 6 losses, and 2 draws, with 28 victories by knockout. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and won the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) Sports Personality of the Year award eight times.
