Franco Wanyama

Franco "Thunderbird" Wanyama (7 February 1968 - 21 March 2019[1][2]) in Kampala, was a Ugandan amateur middleweight and professional cruiser/heavyweight boxer of the 1980s, '90s and 2000s. He was an amateur representative of Uganda at middleweight in the Boxing at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, losing to eventual bronze medal winner Chris Sande of Kenya, and as a professional won the BeNeLux heavyweight title, BeNeLux cruiserweight title, Commonwealth cruiserweight title, and World Boxing Federation (WBF) cruiserweight title, and was a challenger for the Commonwealth cruiserweight title against Chris Okoh, his professional fighting weight varied from 181 lb (82 kg; 12 st 13 lb), i.e. cruiserweight to 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb), i.e. heavyweight. Wanyama defeated notable fighters such as Jimmy Thunder, Carl Thompson and Johnny Nelson and was sparring partner to Vitali Klitschko & Wladimir Klitschko. He lived his last years in Rugby, Warwickshire, England and had 3 children, Nellie Wanyama, Shannon Wanyama and Wanga Wanyama.[3]

Franco Wanyama
Franco and his students in 2013
Statistics
Real nameFranco Wanyama
Nickname(s)Thunderbird
Weight(s)Middleweight

Cruiserweight

Heavyweight
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Reach75 in (191 cm)
NationalityUgandan
Born(1968-02-07)7 February 1968
Kampala, Uganda
Died21 March 2019(2019-03-21) (aged 51)
Rugby, Warwickshire
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights29
Wins20
Wins by KO7
Losses7
Draws2

Early life

Franco started boxing around the age of 6 after becoming curious of what was inside a local boxing gym.

Professional career

Franco made his professional debut on 25 December 1989 against Dutch fighter John Held (7-13-2) it ended a 6-round points draw. In 1990 he beat future world title holder Carl Thompson on points. In 1993 he won a bout against another future world champion, Johnny Nelson, who was disqualified for repeated holding. In 1995 he was matched with former world champion Thomas Hearns but the fight was called off at the last minute and Hearns was replaced by ranked Heavyweight James 'Thunder' Wanyama and gave away a 30 pounds in weight but still came away with a points victory.


Later years

After his retirement Franco worked as a sparring partner, notably with the Klitschko brothers. From 2007 he became a youth worker and boxing coach in Rugby, taking classes for the youth service whilst also being a coach at a local amateur boxing gym. On the 21st of March 2019 Franco died at his home in Rugby.[4]

Professional boxing record
Professional record summary
29 fights 20 wins 7 losses
By knockout 7 5
By decision 13 2
Draws 2
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
29 Win 20–7–2 Csaba Olah TKO 3 (6) 2000-06-16 Ghent, Belgium
28 Win 19–7–2 Daniel Jerling PTS 6 1999-10-15 Ghent, Belgium
27 Win 18–7–2 Geert Blieck MD 6 1999-04-05 Ghent, Belgium
26 Win 17–7–2 Abdul Kadou PTS 10 1997-12-25 Nakivubo Stadium, Kampala, Uganda
25 Loss 16–7–2 Dirk Wallyn TKO 5 (8) 1996-12-25 Izegem, Belgium
24 Loss 16–6–2 Dirk Wallyn TKO 7 (8) 1996-11-01 Izegem, Belgium
23 Loss 16–5–2 Garry Delaney PTS 6 1996-02-06 Festival Hall, Basildon, England
22 Loss 16–4–2 Chris Okoh TKO 8 (12) 1995-09-29 York Hall, Bethnal Green, England For vacant Commonwealth (British Empire) Cruiserweight title.
21 Win 16–3–2 James Thunder SD 10 1995-07-16 Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
20 Draw 15–3–2 Kalin Stoyanov PTS 8 1994-04-02 De Haan, Belgium
19 Win 15–3–1 Tony Booth TKO 2 (12) 1994-01-28 Waregem, Belgium Won vacant Commonwealth (British Empire) Cruiserweight title.
18 Win 14–3–1 Bobbie Joe Edwards PTS 8 1993-12-25 Izegem, Belgium
17 Win 13–3–1 Johnny Nelson DQ 10 (12) 1993-10-01 Waregem, Belgium Won WBF (Federation) Cruiserweight title.
Nelson disqualified for repeated fouls.
16 Win 12–3–1 Daniel Krumov TD 2 (6) 1993-04-23 Waregem, Belgium
15 Win 11–3–1 John Held UD 10 1993-01-29 Waregem, Belgium Won BeNeLux Cruiserweight title.
14 Win 10–3–1 Tony Booth PTS 6 1992-12-25 Izegem, Belgium
13 Win 9–3–1 Faustino Gonzalez TKO 3 (6) 1992-11-01 Izegem, Belgium
12 Win 8–3–1 Vladimir Dyukarev TKO 1 (6) 1992-10-02 Waregem, Belgium
11 Loss 7–3–1 John Emmen KO 10 (10) 1991-06-24 Weenahal, Rotterdam, Netherlands For BeNeLux Heavyweight title.
10 Win 7–2–1 Ramon Voorn PTS 10 1991-02-18 Sportcentrum Valkencourt, Valkenswaard, Netherlands
9 Win 6–2–1 Boubakar Sanogo PTS 8 1990-12-25 Izegem, Belgium
8 Loss 5–2–1 Norbert Ekassi KO 2 (8) 1990-10-13 Ghent, Belgium
7 Win 5–1–1 Ian Bulloch TKO 5 (6) 1990-05-12 Waasmunster, Belgium
6 Win 4–1–1 Carl Thompson PTS 6 1990-04-21 Sint-Amandsberg, Belgium
5 Win 3–1–1 Mohamed Zaoui TKO 3 (6) 1990-04-07 Carvin, France
4 Loss 2–1–1 Christophe Girard PTS 8 1990-03-16 Blois, France
3 Win 2–0–1 Serge Bolivard PTS 6 1990-02-10 Roeselare, Belgium
2 Win 1–0–1 Abner Blackstock TKO 4 (6) 1990-01-12 Waregem, Belgium
1 Draw 0–0–1 John Held PTS 6 1989-12-25 Izegem, Belgium Professional debut

References
  1. "Crowdfunding has to grant Freddy De Kerpel's former pupil a worthy burial (Google translated into English)". Nieuwsblad. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  2. "Is Franco Wanyama Really Dead or Still Alive?". DeadorKicking. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  3. "Statistics at boxrec.com". boxrec.com. 31 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  4. "The life & death of Franco Wanyama: Another proud man who deserved more help than he ever received". The Independend. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
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