Benson Adeyinka Daniel, also known as, Puncher, is a young boxer from Osun State, Nigeria. Lately, he is tagged the ‘Number 3 Nigeria’s middleweight champion’ after reaching the semi-finals at the 2021 National Sports Festival which recently took place in Edo State. As one of the fastest rising boxers in Nigeria, Adeyinka has won several accolades in boxing, including 7 gold medals, 1 silver medal, and 2 bronze medals.
How He Developed Interest in Boxing
Adeyinka started boxing in the year 2015 and had his first ring fight at the Alake Sport Complex, Ogun state Nigeria in the year 2018. He has stated that boxing was a sport he despised while he was younger (particularly during his secondary school days). As a matter of fact, he was called ‘omo get inside’ by his mates because he was perceived as a mummy’s pet and appeared to be timid and naive.
With the known fact that he is soft-minded and calm in his neighbourhood, he became a victim of bullying. He recalled that he ran into bullies most times he was sent on errands and it got him intimidated and oppressed. One of such occurrences was when he was beaten up by a female on the street around his neighborhood when he was 18 years old.
Having realised that what would make him strong-hearted is to fight his fears, Adeyinka decided to engage himself in a boxing gym before gaining admission into Yaba College of Technology and eventually developed a deep interest in exchanging fists. Today, as a result of his achievements in his boxing career, he is the pride of the same area where he was bullied.
Achievements
Benson Adeyinka has participated in several boxing matches in Nigeria and emerged in top positions in most. In November 2018, he had a two-time trial match at the Alake sports complex in Ogun State and emerged as the winner in both matches.
In 2019, he bagged his first gold medal after defeating his opponent at the Ibadan Boxing Tournament. In the same year, he bagged a silver medal after winning a boxing match at the Oyingbo boxing day.
From 2018-2021, Adeyinka participated at the Isheri, Agarawu, Oregun, Ogba, Agege, and Surulere boxing days, where he bagged gold medals from each match, making it a total of 6.
In 2021, he has won two bronze medals after reaching the 3rd positions at the Ibadan Boxing Tournament and Edo State National Sports Festival respectively, which entitled him as the 3rd Middleweight boxing champion in Nigeria.
