Ahead of the biggest challenge of his boxing career, Ghana’s Duke Micah is displaying boundless confidence.
The 29-year-old faces WBO bantamweight ruler John Riel Casimero on Saturday night as part of PBC’s five world title fight pay-per-view spectacular, headlined by the Charlo brothers.
Speaking to Boxing Social as the fight approached, Micah radiated passion and confidence, while his rhetoric was sprinkled with military imagery, underlining the fact he is ready to go to war this weekend.
“Casimero is someone who can fight,” Micah admitted. “He throws a lot of punches. But I’m also a terminator. Yes, I’m small, but I have no fear. I’m a conqueror. I’m coming to conquer!’”
Casimero is only two years older than Micah, but the gulf in experience at the highest level between him and the Ghanaian is vast. The Filipino has won world titles at fly and junior flyweight in addition to 118lbs and has taken part in eight world title bouts in all.
For Micah, Saturday’s fight at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, represents his first foray into world class.
Nevertheless, the hard-hitting west African (24-0, 19 KOs) argued that he has added motivation to succeed, after a tough upbringing in Accra, the capital of his Ghanaian homeland.
“I’ve been through a lot,” Micah said. “A lot of things. Things happen in life and you have to stand like a soldier. Boxing is what I’ve always wanted to do. It has given me food. It is my life. I started boxing when I was seven or eight years old.
“My father and mother divorced. My twin brother and I lived with our grandmother. We didn’t have any money so it was tough for the two of us to go to school, so I decided my brother should go to school while I boxed. He was free to finish his studies. I knew boxing could give me the chance to travel.
“My dream was always to come to America. To fight for a world title and become world champion so that my name would go into the history books with the boxing legends. It’s hard, you know, coming from Africa all the way to America. If you don’t have the right impulse and heart it’s easy to give up. But you have to be like a soldier if you want to achieve something.”
Photo: Boxing Africa.
Micah admitted that his decision to abandon school in favour of pugilism did not meet with approval from his grandmother, and the duo came into frequent conflict during his formative years.
“She told me to go school with my brother, but when I went to school I didn’t learn anything,” he said. “When I went boxing I was happy so that’s what I did. I wanted to box because I’d found something that made me happy.
“Eventually, I got the chance to train with the national team. There was a Cuban coach working with the team in Ghana. He saw me when I was boxing older people and said, ‘Hey, I want to help you. Don’t give up’.
“That’s when I decided to quit going to school. I had to run away every day to come to the gym and train with the national team. I was about 14 or 15. My grandma kept saying to me, ‘Stop boxing and go to school!’ Everyone would look for me when I was training but the gym was about two miles far away from home and no one could ever find me.
“Sometimes I would have some junior fights. One of our neighbours who loved boxing came and told my grandmother, ‘Hey, I saw your grandson fighting!’ When I came home my grandma said to me:, ‘Someone saw you boxing.’
“’It was not me!’ I told her. If she knew the truth, she would have beaten me! My grandma once said to me, ‘You have to quit boxing’. But I said to her, ‘No grandma. I can’t quit. One day my time will come.’”
Will Saturday be the day Micah has waited for? The day a dream forged in the dusty backstreets of inner-city Accra finally flowers into reality?
Micah certainly thinks so.
“I’m feeling great,” he pointed out. “I’ve been working hard with Dr. Andre [Rozier] in the gym. This is a big opportunity. I found my dream coach and that is why I can be world champion. Being in America with coach Andre meeting other boxers and champions has been a great experience. I love meeting other boxers and learning from their experiences.
“I’ve seen a lot of boxing from my amateur days to the professionals. I’ve studied their lifestyles. I’ve learned from them. If you don’t do that you fall into big mistakes. I’ve seen a lot of people fall. You learn from the people who have not made it. I always ask old boxers for advice. It helps make me strong and encourages me not to give up.
“I’ve been preparing for this for years of my life. I don’t go out with friends. I don’t party. I live the right life for me to shine. Training has been good. I was supposed to fight earlier this year but then the Coronavirus pandemic happened. Now we’ve got this great opportunity. Everything is going well, I’m sparring with good boxers. Training has been blessed.”
Chris Glover, the Liverpool-born, New York-based super-bantam, who also trains under Rozier, gave Boxing Social his take on Micah’s skillset and chances.
“Duke is a very good, well-rounded fighter,” Glover said. “He has more attributes than his record suggests. People think he’s just a puncher but he’s not. He can box with the best off them and I think it’s skills and tactics that you need to beat Casimero.
“When it comes to tactics, there’s no better than Andre Rozier. If Duke listens, he can win this fight, but it’s a very hard fight as Casimero is at that elite level in my opinion. Stylistically, Duke can outbox Casimero – I believe that. He has great footwork and good boxing IQ. It’s not an easy fight though but I believe it will come down to who performs on the night and who stays disciplined with their respective gameplans. It’s going to be a great fight.”
If – as he plans – Micah wins the world title then there is one final mission he wants to fulfil.
A return to Africa.
To see the two children he left behind to pursue his dream of boxing glory and financial security.
To prove to his grandmother – who is still alive – and all the naysayers that he was right to skip school all those years ago and follow his boxing dream.
“I haven’t seen my children since I came to America, since before the Coronavirus happened,” Micah said. “My grandmother’s still alive and she’s happy now with where I am. She’s happy that she can see that I’m going to be fighting for a world title.
“It will be remarkable. Something big in Ghana’s boxing history – for me to come to America and become world champion. A lot of people said bad things about me. They tried to destroy me. But this will prove I’m not a bad person. I’ve been fighting for my rights. It‘s a big thing for me.
“Yes, I want to go back home and let everyone know that I’m not a bad person. I was just trying to fight my way out.”
Main image: Stephanie Trapp/TGB Promotions.