Yonatan Landman to Face Simon Tackie in Ghana

Flyweight Yonatan Landman is scheduled to face Simon Tackie on March 5 at the famed Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra, Ghana.

Landman is a 19 year old from Kiryat, Israel. He won his pro debut on January 31 when he stopped Agayev Gasim in the first round in Baku, Azerbaijan. Fellow Israeli flyweight David Alaverdian has been training with Landman for some time and has noticed improvement. "He gets better and stronger every year," David noted.

For Landman, this contest is about the experience of fighting in Ghana. His opponent, Simon Tackie (0-2), won't put up much resistance. In his 2021 debut against the wonderfully named Marvellous Dodoo, Tackie spent the first round covering up while standing in front of Dodoo, absorbing the winless fighter's random slapping swings. To Tackie's credit, he changed strategy in the second, holding on for dear life as if Dodoo was a mountainous cliff and the sport of boxing was a 1,000-foot drop. Tackie lost a point for holding in the third, spent twenty seconds on the canvas after a slip, and retired after the round.

BoxRec claims Tackie then gained 30 pounds and fought six days later, losing to Gabriel Coffie. If it sounds unbelievable, it's because it is. Though Tackie was listed as the opponent, it was actually Emanuel Allotey who fought Coffie. Poor Simon, credited with a loss in a fight in which he didn't even participate.

A year ago, Tackie fought Daniel Otoo, another winless foe. Simon was relatively better than in his debut, landing a jab and a left hook in the first round, but he kept his gloves around his forehead and held his elbows out wide. In the second, Otoo battered Tackie from corner to corner smashing a well-placed overhand right in between.

After the round, Tackie's trainer spent a little over a minute trying to convince him to go get knocked out. Too often in boxing, fighters are labeled as quitters when they show good sense. Tackie won the argument, and the fight was stopped. What he lacks in heart, he more than makes up for in sanity. He'd likely make a better lawyer than fighter. Tackie's best quality as a boxer is the courage he shows to get in the ring.

This bout is scheduled for four rounds.