Promoter Amir Khan is staging another boxing card in Africa, positioning himself in a rapidly shifting promotional landscape where global power brokers are increasingly battling for control of the sport.
Khan’s latest event, set for Lagos, Nigeria, blends professional bouts with influencer boxing and regional rivalries – highlighting their strategy aimed at tapping into Africa’s large youth audience and social media culture.
The card is topped by a crossover bout between Nigerian online personalities Carter Efe and Portable, who together boast around 10million followers and will settle a long-running online feud in the ring. It is being billed as one of the first major influencer boxing contests staged on the continent.
The event arrives at a time when boxing’s promotional structure is undergoing significant upheaval. Frank Warren has been involved in a legal dispute connected to the Saudi’s, while rival promoter Eddie Hearn has also been navigating the growing influence of Dana White‘s new venture with TKO, Zuffa Boxing.
Against that backdrop, Khan has increasingly looked toward emerging markets rather than competing directly for the biggest heavyweight spectacles in the Middle East or Las Vegas.
His shows in Africa have mixed international fighters with local prospects and internet personalities, aiming to build audiences in regions where professional boxing infrastructure has historically been limited.
Amir Khan’s vision for African boxing is moving faster than most realise. Behind the scenes, AK Promotions is already planning to stage four to five shows per year across the continent
October 2025 saw DAZN-broadcast ‘Chaos in the Ring’ card in Lagos, co-promoted with Dr. Ezekiel Adamu’s Balmoral Group Promotions
The likes of Moses Itauma, David Adeleye and Lawrence Okolie all watched the event live
On the sporting side, the Lagos card features several all-African match-ups. Nigerian cruiserweight puncher Ezra Arenyeka (15-2, 12 KOs), known as the ‘Nigerian King,’ faces compatriot Godday Appah (14-2, 13 KOs) in a bout between two heavy-handed fighters from rival neighbourhoods in southern Nigeria. Both bring knockout ratios above 80 per cent, adding local rivalry to what organisers expect to be one of the night’s most intense fights.
Ghana’s Elvis Ahorgah (15-4, 13 KOs), who previously fought British contenders Callum Simpson and Tyler Denny in the UK, returns to Africa to face Newcastle’s Joe Laws (15-4, 5 KOs) in a super-middleweight contest.
Elsewhere on the card, British southpaw Michael McKinson (27-2, 4 KOs) takes on unbeaten Algerian prospect Mohammad Sahnoun (8-0, 6 KOs), while teenage Nigerian prodigy Raheem Animashaun (19-0, 12 KOs) meets Tanzania’s experienced Emmanuel Amos (22-10-1, 13 KOs) in a youth-versus-veteran clash.
Additional bouts include Nigerian prospect Basit Adebayo against Tanzanian veteran Loren Japhet, national middleweight champion Rasheed Adeyemo facing Nicolaus Michael Mdoe, and UK-based Ghanaian welterweight Samuel Antwi meeting Congolese fighter Paul Kamanga.
For Khan, the card reflects an attempt to carve out a niche as boxing’s promotional map shifts. While Saudi Arabia has drawn many of the sport’s biggest names and purses, emerging markets such as Africa offer promoters a different growth opportunity.
