Azumah Nelson (born 19 July 1958) is a

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

ian former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who competed from 1979 to 2008. He was a two-weight world champion, having held the WBC

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

title from 1984 to 1987 and the WBC

super-featherweight Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a weight division in professional boxing, contested between and . The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although first founded by the New Yo ...

title twice between 1988 and 1997. He also challenged once for the unified WBC and

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

titles in 1990. At regional level he held the

ABU Abu or ABU may refer to: Places * Abu (volcano), a volcano on the island of Honshū in Japan * Abu, Yamaguchi, a town in Japan * Ahmadu Bello University, a university located in Zaria, Nigeria * Atlantic Baptist University, a Christian university ...

, and Commonwealth featherweight titles between 1980 and 1982. Widely considered one of the greatest African boxers of all time, he is currently ranked as the 31st greatest

pound for pound Pound for pound is a ranking used in combat sports, such as boxing, wrestling, or mixed martial arts, of who the better fighters are irrespective of their weight, i.e. adjusted to compensate for weight class. As these fighters do not compete direc ...

boxer of all time by

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Amateur career

Nelson competed at the 1978 All-Africa Games and 1978 Commonwealth Games, winning gold medals in

at both events. He was awarded Amateur Boxer of the year by the

Sports Writers Association of Ghana The Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) is professional body in Ghana that includes as sports journalist, analysts, commentators and recognized sports associations in Ghana. The Association holds the SWAG night every year where the best sp ...

(SWAG) that same year.

Professional career

Despite all his early achievements and being undefeated in 13 fights, Nelson was virtually unknown outside Ghana. Because of this, he was a decisive

underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...

when, on short notice, he challenged WBC

champion Salvador Sánchez on 21 July 1982 at the

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

in New York. Nelson lost the fight by fifteenth-round knockout.

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

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. Then, on 8 December of that year, he became boxing royalty by knocking out

Wilfredo Gómez Wilfredo Gómez RiveraPuerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

Super-featherweight

Nelson began 1988 by defeating Mario Martinez by a split decision over 12 rounds in

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to win the vacant WBC

super featherweight Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight division in professional boxing, contested between and . The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although firs ...

title. Nelson was dropped in the 10th round of their encounter and the decision was not well received. On 1 December 1995, defeated world champion

Gabriel Ruelas Gabriel Ruelas, (born on July 23, 1970 in Yerbabuena, Jalisco, Mexico), is a Mexican former professional boxer. Professional career Ruelas turned pro in 1988 and in 1993 challenged WBC Super Featherweight Title holder Azumah Nelson, losing a ...

in the fifth round to claim the title. 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. In 1997, Nelson lost the Lineal & WBC titles to Genaro Hernandez when beaten on points in twelve rounds.

Legacy

The

Azumah Nelson Sports Complex Azumah Nelson Sports Complex, also known as Kaneshie Sports Complex, is a multi-use stadium in Accra, Ghana. The stadium was originally built during the era of the Supreme Military Council under General Acheampong in the 1970s. It was used mo ...

Kaneshie Kaneshie is a suburb in the Accra Metropolitan district, a district of the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The name was derived from a word in the Ga-Adangbe , that is "Kane Shie Shie", meaning "under the lamp" referring to its beginnings as a nig ...

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

was named after him.

Biography

In 2014 the biography of Azumah Nelson was published. Written by

Ashley Morrison Ashley Malcolm Morrison is an Australian/British sports commentator, broadcaster, writer, and documentary filmmaker. Early life Born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, he grew up in Purton, near Swindon. He was educated at Stowe School, Buckingham an ...

it was titled "The Professor - The Life Story of Azumah Nelson" () was published by Strategic Book Publishing.

Personal life

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

Professional boxing record

References

External links

*
Azumah Nelson - CBZ Profile
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Azumah 1958 births Boxers at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Featherweight boxers Super-featherweight boxers Lightweight boxers Living people International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees World boxing champions World Boxing Council champions African Boxing Union champions Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Ghana Boxers from Accra Ga-Adangbe people Ghanaian male boxers Commonwealth Games medallists in boxing African Games gold medalists for Ghana African Games medalists in boxing Competitors at the 1978 All-Africa Games