Preparatory to the bout between the two traditional wrestling titans Modou Lo and Balla Gaye 2, there have been all kinds of opinions flying to and fro from the various opposing camps. While others, are merely opinions from the usual crop of wrestling experts.

Sa Thies, the brother of Balla Gaye 2 spoke against Modou Lo regarding the fight which is scheduled to take place on 1st January, 2019. Thies said “there are all kinds of wrestlers out there. Some are fueled up with unnatural hate for an opponent such that the mere mention of an opponent’s name raises ones desire to want to annihilate that opponent permanently, and to also shut the mouths of doubters closed forever. When a fighter has a certain degree of hatred beyond reason, such blind hate has the potential risk of making it nearly impossible for a fighter to be well coordinated in the ring. Thus rendering a fighter loss fights one after the other. The real problem is that the two fighters could be said to harbor some degree of mutual hate that may impede on their abilities to render the weeks and months of training a waste“.

Balla Gaye 2.

The realization that one cannot simply stomach that an opponent has beaten the other on one or two occasions drives Modou Lo to unimaginable anger. His one and only dream is to see that he stands over Gaye 2 in victory within the small circle of the arena. Modou was heard to have confessed to his crew members that “even in sleep, he dreams of the January fight”. On the other hand, when a fighter feeds on hatred and channels it positively towards an opponent in the same capacity as that of Modou, there is every chance that it will be a useful fuel for rising up the courage and strength that was otherwise lying fallow within a fighter.

Wrestling experts on the other have written Modou off, they claimed that Modou is psychologically stressed with hatred, and according to them, that obsession cannot allow him to beat Gaye 2 even in a hundred years. They further advised Modou to fight more fights in other to learn how to cope with defeats and to also learn how to dispense with unnecessary pent up anger and frustration.

Modou Lo.

Meanwhile, former wrestler Zale Lo spoke in an interview regarding the upcoming bout between Gaye 2 and Modou. Perhaps to fuel the fighters anger against each other the more, or to draw attention to Gaye 2 who promised to beat Modou again, Zale says “No wrestler, living today, can beat Modou Lo in the arena. He has the quality that many wrestlers do not have. His uncanny ability to execute ‘Body Removal’ is unequaled by any wrestler at the moment. If Gaye 2 said he can beat Modou, that his argument. In my opinion, it is not possible. If he is sure that he can take down Modou this time around, let him do so, but if at the end of the day he cannot, then let him and the other disputing heavy weights put the matter to rest once and for all”.

Gaye 2 who was a former king of the arena believes that he stronger, bigger, and his experience transcends that of his opponent makes the odds to be in his favor. This is not to mention the initial loss that Modou experienced through that was purported to be a fluke by Modou and other pundits. As far as he is concerned, it was pretty clear to all and sundry that he was en-route to victory and that was what happened in the end.

Modou Lo is some ritual as prescribed by his Marabous.
Balla Gaye 2 clad in strange objects given by his Marabous.

Thies confessed that “the fight will be a difficult one; because his brother has vowed that he will never allow or accept Modou to beat him. It has not happened before and will not happen in the future. Thies further added that Modou has sworn to avenge the previous loss come what may. That if it will take his last strength and breathe to do so, then so be it”.

No doubt height, built and experience are dominating qualities that can come handy in the arena for a fighter. However, if Balla Gaye 2 thinks that those qualities are sufficiently binding to make him subdue his opponent, then that assertion may be true, as it played out in their last encounter. Positive anger and murderous hate if channeled properly could be a useful factor worth considering during a fight, and if Modou Lo thinks that simple blind hate harbored for long is a sufficient fuel to produce a win against an imposing figure as Gaye 2, then he is got another thinking coming.

African Traditional Wrestling has undergone series of modifications here and there. However, despite the modifications, it is still as traditional as it can be. This is so because the use of Marabous, Soothsayers, Talisman/emulates and other strange incantations before, during and after a fight is very much a part of it. Bare knuckles and kicking with legs are allowed; as such fighters use it to stun each other before final tack down.

Below is a two minutes video clip of their wrestling match which Gaye 2 won fair and square for your viewing pleasure.

ALL PICTURES USED ARE GOOGLE SOURCED.

Thank you for stopping by. Sincerely @izge.