By Chimaobi Afiauwa
Former Nigerian middleweight boxing champion, Jeremiah Okorodudu is dead, according to multiple news reports.
The boxer died in a private hospital in Lawandon, Lagos, on Wednesday night after battling with a foot ulcer that left him bedridden for weeks.
The tragic news of Okorodudu’s demise was compounded by reports that his corpse was confiscated by the management of the hospital where he died until the outstanding medical bill to the tune of six hundred thousand naira (N600,000) was paid by the family.
Adenike, the wife of the deceased, confirmed the report to newsmen while speaking to the correspondents of the Punch Newspaper.
“He is dead now, but we still need to pay N600,000 to get his body out of the hospital,” Adenike lamented.
Okorodudu’s death continues the sorry story of the abandonment and neglect of Nigerian former heroes in the field of sports by the Authorities.
Popularly known as Jerry, the ex-boxer represented Nigeria at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games in the US, where he competed in the middleweight category.
He rose to stardom in his boxing career after winning a gold medal at the Oluyole 1979 National Sports Festival in Ibadan, representing the Old Bende State.
