Azumah Nelson

Azumah Nelson (born 19 July 1958) is a Ghanaian former professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 2008. He was a two-weight world champion, having held the WBC featherweight title from 1984 to 1987 and the WBC super-featherweight title twice between 1988 and 1997. He also challenged once for the unified WBC and IBF lightweight titles in 1990. At regional level he held the ABU, and Commonwealth featherweight titles between 1980 and 1982. Widely considered one of the greatest African boxers of all time,[2][3] he is currently ranked as the 31st greatest pound for pound boxer of all time by BoxRec.[4]

Azumah Nelson
Statistics
Nickname(s)
  • The Professor
  • Zoom Zoom
  • The Terrible Warrior[1]
Weight(s)
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Reach173 cm (68 in)
NationalityGhanaian
Born (1958-07-19) 19 July 1958
Accra, Ghana
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights47
Wins39
Wins by KO28
Losses6
Draws2
Medal record
Men's boxing
Representing  Ghana
Commonwealth Games
1978 Edmonton Featherweight
All-Africa Games
1978 Algiers Featherweight

Amateur career

Nelson competed at the 1978 All-Africa Games and 1978 Commonwealth Games,[5] winning gold medals in the featherweight class at both events. He was awarded Amateur Boxer of the year by the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) that same year.[6]

Professional career

Despite all his early achievements and being undefeated in 13 fights, Nelson was virtually unknown outside Ghana.[7] Because of this, he was a decisive underdog when, on short notice, he challenged WBC featherweight champion Salvador Sánchez on 21 July 1982 at the Madison Square Garden in New York.[7]

World featherweight champion

Nelson won all four of his fights in 1983, and he began 1984 by beating Hector Cortez by decision on 9 March in Las Vegas. Then, on 8 December of that year, he became boxing royalty by knocking out Wilfredo Gómez in round 11 to win the WBC featherweight championship.[8] Behind on the three judges' scorecards, Nelson rallied in that last round to become champion in Puerto Rico.

Super featherweight

Nelson began 1988 by defeating Mario Martinez by a split decision over 12 rounds in Los Angeles to win the vacant WBC super featherweight title. Nelson was dropped in the 10th round of their encounter and the decision was not well received.[9]

On 1 December 1995, defeated world champion Gabriel Ruelas in the fifth round to claim the title.[10]

His first defense took place almost a year later, when he and Leija had their third bout. Nelson retained the title with a six-round knockout. As had become his common practice, that was the only time Nelson fought in 1996.[11]

In 1997, Nelson lost the Lineal & WBC titles to Genaro Hernandez when beaten on points in twelve rounds.[12]

Professional boxing record
39 Wins (28 Knockouts), 6 Defeats (1 Knockout), 2 Draws[13]
Res. Record Opponent Type Rd., Time Date Location Notes
Loss 39–6–2 Jeff Fenech MD 10 2008-06-24 Victoria
Loss 39–5–2 Jesse James Leija UD 12 1998-07-11 Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
Loss 39–4–2 Genaro Hernández SD 12 1997-03-22 Memorial Coliseum, Corpus Christi, Texas Lost WBC super-featherweight title
Win 39–3–2 Jesse James Leija TKO 6 (12), 1:58 1996-06-01 Boulder Station, Las Vegas, Nevada Retained WBC super-featherweight title
Win 38–3–2 Gabriel Ruelas TKO 5 (12), 1:12 1995-12-01 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California Won WBC super-featherweight title
Loss 37–3–2 Jesse James Leija UD 12 1994-05-07 MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada Lost WBC super-featherweight title
Draw 37–2–2 Jesse James Leija SD 12 1993-09-10 Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas Retained WBC super-featherweight title
Win 37–2–1 Gabriel Ruelas MD 12 1993-02-20 Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Distrito Federal Retained WBC super-featherweight title
Win 36–2–1 Calvin Grove UD 12 1992-11-07 Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada Retained WBC super-featherweight title
Win 35–2–1 Jeff Fenech TKO 8 (12), 2:20 1992-03-01 Princes Park Football Ground, Melbourne, Victoria Retained WBC super-featherweight title
Draw 34–2–1 Jeff Fenech SD 12 1991-06-28 The Mirage, Las Vegas, Nevada Retained WBC super-featherweight title
Win 34–2 Daniel Mustapha KO 4 1991-03-16 Polideportivo Principal Felipe, Zaragoza, Aragón
Win 33–2 Juan Laporte UD 12 1990-10-13 Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney, New South Wales Retained WBC super-featherweight title
Loss 32–2 Pernell Whitaker UD 12 1990-05-19 Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada For WBC and IBF lightweight titles
Win 32–1 Jim McDonnell TKO 12 (12) 1989-11-05 Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London Retained WBC super-featherweight title
Win 31–1 Mario Martínez TKO 12 (12), 1:18 1989-02-25 Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada Retained WBC super-featherweight title
Win 30–1 Sidnei Dal Rovere TKO 3 (12), 2:04 1988-12-10 Accra Sports Stadium, Accra Retained WBC super-featherweight title
Win 29–1 Lupe Suarez TKO 9(12), 0:27 1988-06-25 Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey Retained WBC super-featherweight title
Win 28–1 Mario Martínez SD 12 1988-02-29 Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California Won vacant WBC super-featherweight title
Win 27–1 Marcos Villasana UD 12 1987-08-29 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Retained WBC featherweight title
Win 26–1 Mauro Gutierrez KO 6 (12), 0:33 1987-03-07 Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada Retained WBC featherweight title
Win 25–1 Aaron Duribe KO 6 1986-12-13 Accra
Win 24–1 Danilo Cabrera TKO 10 (12), 2:31 1986-06-22 Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan Retained WBC featherweight title
Win 23–1 Marcos Villasana MD 12 1986-02-25 Inglewood Forum, Los Angeles, California Retained WBC featherweight title
Win 22–1 Pat Cowdell KO 1 (12), 2:24 1985-10-12 National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, West Midlands Retained WBC featherweight title
Win 21–1 Juvenal Ordenes TKO 5 (12), 2:45 1985-09-06 Tamiami Park, Miami, Florida Retained WBC featherweight title
Win 20–1 Wilfredo Gómez KO 11 (12), 2:58 1984-12-08 Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan Won WBC featherweight title
Win 19–1 Hector Cortez UD 10 1984-03-09 Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win 18–1 Kabiru Akindele KO 9 (15) 1983-11-23 Lagos Retained Commonwealth featherweight title
Win 17–1 Alberto Collazo TKO 2 (10), 1:40 1983-09-23 Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, Ohio
Win 16–1 Alvin Fowler TKO 2 1983-08-17 Showboat Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win 15–1 Ricky Wallace TKO 2 1983-02-12 Public Auditorium, Cleveland, Ohio
Win 14–1 Irving Mitchell TKO 5 (10) 1982-10-31 Great Gorge Resort, McAfee, New Jersey
Loss 13–1 Salvador Sánchez TKO 15 (15), 1:49 1982-07-21 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York For WBC featherweight title
Win 13–0 Mukaila Bukare TKO 6 1982-06-26 Accra
Win 12–0 Charm Chiteule TKO 10 (15) 1982-02-28 Woodlands Stadium, Lusaka Retained Commonwealth featherweight title
Win 11–0 Kabiru Akindele KO 6 (15) 1981-12-04 Freetown Retained Commonwealth featherweight title
Win 10–0 Brian Roberts TKO 5 (15) 1981-09-26 Accra Sports Stadium, Accra Won vacant Commonwealth featherweight title
Win 9–0 Miguel Ruiz TKO 3 1981-08-18 Bakersfield Civic Auditorium, Bakersfield, California
Win 8–0 Don George KO 5 (10), 0:54 1981-05-02 Accra Sports Stadium, Accra
Win 7–0 Aziza Bossou PTS 10 1981-02-24 Stade General Eyadema, Lomé
Win 6–0 Joe Skipper PTS 10 1980-12-13 Accra Sports Stadium, Accra Won African featherweight title
Win 5–0 David Capo PTS 10 1980-07-04 Accra
Win 4–0 Abdul Rahman Optoki KO 8 (12), 1:11 1980-04-19 Accra Retained Ghanaian featherweight title
Win 3–0 Henry Saddler KO 9 (12) 1980-03-03 Accra Won Ghanaian featherweight title
Win 2–0 Nii Nuer KO 3 (8) 1980-02-02 Kaneshie Sports Complex, Accra
Win 1–0 Billy Kwame PTS 6 1979-12-01 Accra Sports Stadium, Accra

Legacy

The Azumah Nelson Sports Complex at Kaneshie in Accra was named after him.[14]

Biography

In 2014 the biography of Azumah Nelson was published. Written by Ashley Morrison it was titled "The Professor - The Life Story of Azumah Nelson" (ISBN 978-1628571059) was published by Strategic Book Publishing.

Personal life

Nelson has a son, Azumah Nelson Junior, whom Nelson is training as a boxer.[15]

In July 2018, Azumah organized a fight night to celebrate his 60th birthday at the Bukom Boxing Arena. This event brought together fighters from highly rated gyms in the country to fight contenders in their divisions. Some dignitaries including Nii Lante Vanderpuiye and Nii Amarkai Amarteifio who are two former sports ministers, Ian Walker the British High Commissioner to Ghana and Peter Zwennes the president of the Ghana Boxing Authority, graced the occasion. In all there were five bouts, three of which were won by knockout.[16]

See also

References
  1. "BOXING; A Fight for Recognition and 2 Titles". Nytimes.com. 19 May 1990. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  2. Errol Barnett (11 August 2012). "Is Azumah Nelson Africa's greatest boxer?". CNN. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  3. Timothy W. Smith (11 July 1998). "Story: BOXING: The Best Boxer Nobody Knows; After 19 Years, the Career of a Ghanaian Legend Nears an End". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  4. "BoxRec: Ratings". Boxrec.com. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  5. "Boxing 57kg - Men Edmonton 1978 | Commonwealth Games Federation". thecgf.com. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  6. "Ike Quartey". mobile.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  7. Michael Katz (22 July 1982). "SANCHEZ KNOCKS OUT NELSON IN THE 15TH". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  8. "Nelson takes Title". The New York Times. 10 December 1984.
  9. GUSTKEY, EARL (1 March 1988). "Age and Zaragoza Catch Up With Zarate : Nelson Takes Unpopular Split Decision for Super-Featherweight Title". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  10. Steve Springer (2 December 1995). "Ruelas Is KO'd by Nelson, Specter : Boxing: Champion loses his WBC title to 37-year-old challenger after "seeing" boxer who died after his previous fight". LA Times. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  11. Tim Kawakami (2 June 1996). "Nelson Retains WBC Title With a Sixth-Round TKO". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  12. "Azumah Nelson - Lineal Jr. Lightweight Champion". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
  13. "Azumah Nelson's Professional Boxing Record". BoxRec. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  14. "Sporting facilities and events renamed". BusinessGhana. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  15. "Azumah Nelson backs son to become world champion". 21 August 2017. Archived from the original on 24 November 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  16. "Knockout galore as Azumah crowns 60th anniversary with Azumah Nelson Fight Night". www.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
Achievements
Preceded by
Wilfredo Gómez		 WBC Featherweight Champion
8 December 1984 – 1988
Vacated		 Vacant
Title last held by
Jeff Fenech
Vacant
Title last held by
Julio César Chávez		 WBC Super Featherweight Champion
29 February 1988 – 7 May 1994		 Succeeded by
Jesse James Leija
Preceded by
Gabriel Ruelas		 WBC Super Featherweight Champion
1 December 1995 – 22 March 1997		 Succeeded by
Genaro Hernández
Awards
Previous:
Buster Douglas
KO10 Mike Tyson		 The Ring Magazine Upset of the Year
KO8 Jeff Fenech
1992		 Next:
Simon Brown KO4
Terry Norris


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