Ghanaian boxer, Jacob Dickson, has revealed that he never wanted to fight Ernest Akushey, popularly known as Bahubali, before the tragic bout that allegedly ended the latter’s life.
Bahubali passed away on September 23, 2025, at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, eleven days after suffering a technical knockout defeat to Dickson at the Bukom Boxing Arena.
The incident has cast a shadow over the boxing community and placed Dickson firmly under the spotlight.
Speaking in an interview with Joel Eshun on GhanaWeb, Dickson explained that the fight was never part of his plans because Bahubali was not in his weight class.
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“I didn’t even have that mindset to fight with Bahubali because he’s not my weight class. Moreover, I had never thought about fighting with him,” he said.
According to Dickson, it was Bahubali who initiated the challenge after watching his June 2025 fight against Andrew.
“Bahubali watched my recent fight with Andrew in June and because I couldn’t get the chance to win, he thought I’m a weak boxer,” Dickson recounted. “Even though he was not my weight class, he thought because of the performance I had, he could beat me.”
Dickson added that Bahubali began taunting him publicly and using social media to escalate the situation.
“He was listening and following people’s advice. He started throwing shots, using his phone to do videos and post online,” he explained. “It came to a time that it became worse, so I even came out to say any promoter that will do it, I’ll fight. So he went to call the promoter, Lord Coleman, to arrange the fight.”
The fight eventually went ahead on September 12, 2025, ending in tragedy and leaving Dickson shaken.
Watch the full interview below:
FKA/JE
Meanwhile, watch interviews with Bahubali’s twin sister and promoter below
