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Music artiste, Portable, and Internet sensation, Charles Okocha
Street-pop singer Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, has said he walked out of the ring during his celebrity boxing rematch against actor Charles Okocha because he was “attacked unfairly.”
The “Zazoo Zeh” star was disqualified on Friday night at the Balmoral Convention Centre, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, after leaving the ring before the end of the opening round, and victory was awarded to Okocha.
In a video posted to his Instagram page on Saturday, hours after the bout tagged “Unfinished Business,” Portable showed marks on his back and body.
He alleged that multiple people attacked him and that Okocha bit him during the fight.
“Man, he bit me. I landed a heavy hit on him,” Portable said in the video. “He bit me, number one. He choked my neck. Camera it. That’s why I say I don’t fight again. I’m big! I’m bigger than the money! I’m a star!”
The much-publicised rematch was meant to settle their controversial first encounter, which Okocha had claimed was wrongly awarded to Portable.
Portable appeared to have the early advantage, but the contest quickly devolved into a scuffle.
The referee struggled to separate both men as the bout took on what observers described as a wrestling-like tone.
The bell rang to end the round as security personnel and bodyguards moved in to restore order.
Portable said he had promised to deliver 10 blows and that he fulfilled it.
“Normally, I beat him up. Man to man, one man is tougher than another. I dealt him a huge blow,” he said. “I wore one-round cloth to the bout. I wanted to beat him in one round.”
He later returned to the ring, but officials had already ruled against him.
At the final weigh-in, Portable had boasted that he remained the better fighter.
Hours before the fight, he told reporters: “I am not happy, but I want God to make me happy and my family.”
The disqualification marks a reversal for the singer, who won the first meeting between the pair.
Speaking after the fight, Portable suggested he would no longer participate in celebrity bouts.
“I would not have clinched with Okocha if he had not bitten me,” he said.
The fight, which drew a crowd of entertainers, influencers and fans, ended in confusion, with both camps trading accusations on social media hours later. (The Nation)