Wale Omotoso (born May 6, 1985) is a Nigerian
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 ...
. He was based in Australia for several years, where he turned professional.
In 2011, he signed with
Top Rank
Top Rank, Inc. is a boxing promotional company founded by Jabir Herbert Muhammad and Bob Arum, which was incorporated in 1973, and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Since its founding, Top Rank has promoted many world class fighters, including Muh ...
, and was trained and managed by
Freddie Roach
Frederick Steven Roach (born March 5, 1960) is an American boxing trainer and former professional boxer. Roach is widely regarded as one of the best boxing trainers of all time. He is the enduring boxing coach of the eight-division world champio ...
at Wild Card Boxing in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.
After a successful 15-year career, Omotoso, who had suffered two past concussions, and who wanted to ensure his ability to continue supporting his wife and two sons, retired from fighting, and became a trainer at Wild Card.
Early life
He is one of five children whose mother died when he was young, and whose father did the best he could, until he, too, died in the 2000s decade. Wale learned to fight on the streets of one of Africa's most populous cities,
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...
. He calls himself "Lucky Boy", because he is lucky to be alive, let alone to have parlayed his natural ability into a ticket from the mean streets of Lagos to the clean streets of
Blackburn, Victoria
Blackburn is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Whitehorse local government area. Blackburn recorded a population of 14,478 at the 2021 census.
The origin o ...
, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. As children, he and his brothers had to run with a
street gang. He's seen people shot, bashed, and slashed with
machete
Older machete from Latin America
Gerber machete/saw combo
Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca">San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San ...
s. He learned to run in zigzag fashion to avoid bullets. Six days a week, the "street boys" preyed on shopkeepers, passers-by, and weaker gangs.
Amateur career
Omotoso had a reported 48 amateur fights, with only one loss. He was an all-African champion, and one of his toughest fights was with King Davison.
Professional career
Welterweight
In November 2010, in Victoria, Australia, Wale was originally slated to face Muhammad Abdullaev, but ended up facing Argentine journeyman Juan Alberto Godoy. After knocking down Godoy in the fourth round, Godoy's corner threw in the towel as the referee was restarting the action, as Godoy was clearly still on shaky legs.
Training career
In 2022, AB Ayad, a creative-staff member of the
H3 Podcast
h3h3Productions is a YouTube channel hosted by Ethan Klein and Hila Klein, an Israeli-American husband-and-wife duo. The majority of their content consists of reaction videos and sketch comedy in which they satirize internet culture. The ''H3 ...
with no boxing (or other competitive athletic) experience, to prepare for his fight in the Creator Clash event organized by YouTuber
iDubbbz
Ian W. (born July 27, 1990), more commonly known as iDubbbz or Ian Carter, is an American YouTube personality. Creator of YouTube channels iDubbbzTV, iDubbbzTV2, and iDubbbzgames, he is best known for his comedy video series, including ''Conten ...
, asked for the toughest coach at Wild Card, and was paired up with Omotoso. Ayad noted that he soon realized he may have underestimated what "toughest coach" would mean. Fearing for AB's safety, Omotoso initially tried to talk him out of participating in the Clash, but when Ayad persisted, Omotoso adjusted his teaching techniques to allow for a rank amateur. Although AB lost to his stalwart opponent in the fifth and final round via TKO, the Omotoso–Ayad training relationship was considered a success by both parties.
Professional boxing record
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="8", 28 Wins (22 Knockouts), 5 Losses, 0 Draws, 1 No Contest
, - style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;"
, style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Res.
, style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Record
, style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Opponent
, style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Type
, style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Rd., Time
, style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Date
, style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Location
, style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Notes
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 28–4 (1), , align=left,
Curtis Stevens
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Loss
, align=center, 27–4 (1), , align=left,
Chordale Booker
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 27–3 (1), , align=left,
Freddy Hernandez Freddy or Freddie may refer to:
Entertainment
*Freddy (comic strip), a newspaper comic strip which ran from 1955 to 1980
* Freddie (Cromartie), a character from the Japanese manga series''Cromartie High School''
*Freddie (dance), a short-lived 196 ...
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Loss
, align=center, 26–3 (1), , align=left,
Jamal James
Jamal James (born July 27, 1988) is an American professional boxer who held the WBA (Regular) welterweight title from 2020 to 2021.
Amateur career
As an amateur James represented Circle of Discipline boxing club in Minneapolis. In his final year ...
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 26–2 (1), , align=left, Gilberto Sanchez Leon
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Loss
, align=center, 25–2 (1), , align=left, Sammy Vasquez
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 25–1 (1), , align=left, Abraham Alvarez
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 24–1 (1), , align=left, Eduardo Flores
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Loss
, align=center, 23–1 (1), , align=left,
Jessie Vargas
Jessie Vargas (born May 10, 1989) is an American professional boxer. He is a former world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBA (Regular) and IBO super lightweight titles in 2014, and the WBO welterweight title in 2016. As of Aug ...
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, style="background:#ddd;", NC
, align=center, 23–0 (1), , align=left,
Irving Garcia
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 23–0, , align=left, Daniel Sostre
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 22–0, , align=left, Larry Smith
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 21–0, , align=left, Nestor Rosas
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 20–0, , align=left,
Lanardo Tyner
Lanardo Tyner (born August 2, 1975) is an American professional boxer.
Professional career
On December 5, 2009 Tyner lost to the Mexican Canelo Álvarez. All his losses have been quality, coming to Mike Arnaoutis, Lamont Peterson and Canelo Álv ...
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 19–0, , align=left, Calvin Odom
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 18–0, , align=left, Juan Alberto Godoy
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 17–0, , align=left, Kiatchai Singwancha
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 16–0, , align=left, Ray Musson
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 15–0, , align=left, Hwan-Young Park
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 14–0, , align=left,
Emanuel Augustus
Emanuel Augustus (born Emanuel Ya'kov Burton, January 2, 1975), is an American former professional boxer from Brownsville, Texas who competed from 1994 to 2011. He was known as The Drunken Master, taken from the Jackie Chan films of the same n ...
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 13–0, , align=left, Darsim Nanggala
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 12–0, , align=left, Jamed Jalarante
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 11–0, , align=left, Aswin Cabuy
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 10–0, , align=left, Napparat Patanakan Gym
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 9–0, , align=left, Samuel Colomban
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 8–0, , align=left, Tia Koswara
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 7–0, , align=left, Komsak Sithkrupon
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 6–0, , align=left, Glen Masicampo
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 5–0, , align=left, Somchai Nakbalee
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 4–0, , align=left, Jakkirt Suwunnalirt
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 3–0, , align=left, Kongthawat Sorkitti
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 2–0, , align=left, Ariel Omongos
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=center, 1–0, , align=left, Singyok Sor Seesunt
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
Titles in boxing
''
Major Sanctioning Bodies:''
–
''
Minor Sanctioning Bodies:''
*
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 ...
Pan Pacific
Welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...
Champion (147 lbs)
*
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 ...
Pan Pacific Youth
Welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...
Champion (147 lbs)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Omotoso, Wale
1985 births
American male boxers
American people of Yoruba descent
Living people
Nigerian emigrants to the United States
Nigerian male boxers
Place of birth missing (living people)
Welterweight boxers
Yoruba sportspeople
Sportspeople from Lagos
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Australia
People from Blackburn, Victoria
Boxing trainers