Suliasi Tupou Ahio (born 3 August 1982), better known as Bowie Tupou, is an Australian

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 ...

. Tupou has peaked at 13th in the WBO rankings after winning the WBO African title against Hunter Sam in March 2015. Tupou lost the title in August 2015 against Joseph Parker.

Early life

Tupou moved to Mt Druitt at age of 11, then to

Newtown, New South Wales Newtown, a suburb of Inner West, Sydney's inner west, is located approximately four kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, straddling the Local government areas of New South Wales, local government areas of the City of Sy ...

when he got married. Before becoming a boxer, Bowie played professional rugby league football in Australia for the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrith ...

in the under 21s. In 2001 Tupou was selected to tour New Zealand, which included a game against

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...

under-21 in Queenstown. His NRL career never happened due to being sucked into the booze culture and he fell into that trap like many youngsters can. Tupou wife was the first person to suggest boxing as a sport, to help get him back on track and install some discipline in his life.

Professional boxing career

He began his boxing career training with Johnny Lewis, Australia's most well-known boxing coach, having trained Jeff Fenech, Jeff Harding, Virgil Hill and Kostya Tszyu. After only one amateur bout, he knocked out his opponent in the first round. Tupou made his pro debut on 18 February 2006 in South Windsor, New South Wales, Australia, against Brian Fitzgerald. Tupou won the evenly fought battle by a majority decision. Six months later on a rematch with Fitzgerald, Tupou picked up the lightly regarded New South Wales Heavyweight title. At the end of 2006 he settled in Los Angeles where he started training with Justin Fortune at the Pound4Pound Gym. In 2007 he signed with Gary Shaw and made his U.S. debut on 7 September. In April 2008 he signed with a new coach Jeff Mayweather. He has beaten his first club fighters in Cisse Salif and Ray Hayes. In 2009 he was KOd by club fighter

Demetrice King Demetrice King (born January 21, 1985) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2003 to 2011. He holds a notable win over future world heavyweight champion Bermane Stiverne. Professional career King made his professional debu ...

but a 2011 KO of Manuel Quezada and a points win over Donnell Holmes have restored some credibility. Bowie now resides in Las Vegas, NV. In 2012 he was KOd by Malik Scott and Bryant Jennings.

Returning to Australia

When returning to Australia in 2013, Tupou started training with Jeff French. Since that return he had a three win streak with wins over Hunter Sam, Nick Guivas and Junior Maletino Iakopo. After the three wins Tupou received his first major world rankings, ranked 13th in WBO and winning the WBO African title. Five months after winning the title, Tupou suffered his forth lose to Joseph Parker. In 2016, Tupou won his rematch against Hunter Sam after both boxers taking the fight on a weeks notice. Tupou won the fight by TKO. Tupou had its last regional title shot against the tallest boxer in the world, New Zealand American

Julius Long Julius Lloyd-Long (born 28 May 1977) is an American-born New Zealander professional boxer who resides in Auckland. He is best known for his physical stature, standing and having a reach. Outside of the ring, Long is a professional chef. Profe ...

. Long won the Interim WBA title by Split Decision, his biggest win of his career. Tupou has not fought since.

Professional boxing titles

*Australian New South Wales State **Australia – New South Wales State heavyweight title (262½''Ibs'') *

World Boxing Organisation The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...

**WBO Africa heavyweight title (284½''Ibs'')

Professional boxing record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tupou, Bowie 1982 births Living people Heavyweight boxers Tongan male boxers Australian male boxers Tongan emigrants to Australia Australian Latter Day Saints Tongan Latter Day Saints