In 2017 when Isaac Aryee had a near fatal motor accident, the welterweight boxer felt his career would be over.
The accident was so bad that he broke his neck and needed surgery to get in shape. All this while, people wondered if Aryee could come back stronger into the ring.
It was an unpleasant situation for the fighter and the entire boxing fraternity which fought for the government to cater for his hospital bills, the reason being that Aryee was hit by a police car at Mamprobi when he was driving a motorcycle. The government through the Ministry of Youth and Sports paid for his bills to have a successful surgery.
“It was a bad situation in my life but I’m glad I survived it,” Aryee told Graphic Sports.
He added: “The accident nearly took my life and I had to spend several months at the hospital. At a point, I felt my boxing career would be over even when I return from the hospital healthy.”
Thankfully, things have worked well in Aryee’s favour. After over two years, he is finally back on his feet to continue his career from where he left it.
Emotional return
Just when he thought all hope was lost, Aryee has been passed to continue his boxing career. He is in line to fight on November 29 against Raymond Ansah in a contest at the Bukom Boxing Arena.
The bout is going to be the first since the government gave the green light for contact sports to resume and Aryee wants to take full advantage of it.
It is going to be a super welterweight contest over six rounds on the undercard of ACE Power Promotions’ ‘Knockout COVID-19 Fight Night’.
To Aryee, the night will be emotional but he is hopeful of an emphatic victory against journeyman Ansah.
“I don’t believe that I’m returning to the ring once again. That is all I want to do and I’m glad that the time has finally come for me to fight again.
My opponent must watch out for me because I’m coming back stronger than I used to be. It is going to be an easy win,” Aryee noted.
It is, however, unclear whether the accident will have a negative impact on Aryee’s career on his return. That bout with Ansah could indicate that.
Professional record
Aryee’s last fight was a fifth round knockout victory over Charles Tetteh in March 2017. Two months later, he had that tragic accident which nearly ended his career.
Before that, the Bukom fighter had travelled to Kazakhstan to challenge undefeated Zhankosh Turarov in 2016.
He was stopped in the fourth round.
That same year, he successfully defended the national welterweight title he won in 2015 by beating Ben Ankrah.
Aryee holds a record of 25 wins from 34 professional fights. He has six wins from his previous seven and could extend that against Ansah.
Ansah has more defeats than wins in 41 bouts. He has managed only eight victories with 33 losses in his eight-year career.
The clash could go in favour of Aryee who looks the better fighter between the two but could be affected by ring rust.
“I don’t think that is going to be a problem for me because I have the experience to deal with that. What matters most is that I am making my long-awaited return and I don’t see Ansah being a threat to me at all,” Aryee told Graphic Sports.
