Without a shred of doubt, former Ghanaian professional boxer, Azumah Nelson, is one of the greatest African boxers of all time. His boxing record from 1979 to 2008 speaks for itself. It is little surprise that the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) honoured him for his contributions to the sport by inducting him into its shrine in 2004. On top of that, the two-weight former world champion is currently ranked by BoxRec as the 31st greatest pound for pound boxer of all time.
Azumah Nelson, whose career spanned nearly two decades, was born on the 19th of July 1958 in Accra, Ghana. The former pugilist was affectionately nicknamed ‘The Professor’ by his numerous fans around the world.
The double-weight world champion held the WBC featherweight title from 1984 to 1987 and the WBC super-featherweight title twice between 1988 and 1997. Being the Oliver Twist he was, Nelson challenged once for the Unified WBC and IBF lightweight titles on May 19, 1990.
At the 1978 All-Africa Games in Algeria, Azumah Nelson won a gold medal in the featherweight division. A couple of weeks later, he won another gold medal in the same division at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Montreal, Canada. As a result of his accomplishments, Nelson was awarded the Amateur Boxer of the Year by the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) the same year. At the regional level, Nelson held ABU and Commonwealth featherweight titles between 1980 and 1982.
The former world champion set in train his flourishing career as a professional boxer on December 1, 1979 at Accra Sports Stadium where he won the first fight of his 13-fight winning streak defeating Billy Kwame by points. The never-tiring Nelson faced Nii Nuer in his second fight in the same city on February 2, 1980 and won the fight through technical knockout. After defeating Nuer, Nelson won the Ghanaian featherweight title by beating Henry Saddler by technical knockout on March 1, 1980. Five months later, he retained his Ghanaian featherweight title by scoring a technical knockout against Abdul Rahman Optoki at the Kaneshie Sports Complex, Accra, Ghana.
On December 13, 1980, Azumah Nelson won the African featherweight title by delivering a technical knockout against Joe Skipper. Three months later, Nelson, also nicknamed ‘Zoom Zoom’ by his fans, outboxed Aziza Bossou in Togo in his first professional fight outside Ghana. On August 18, 1981, Nelson scored a technical knockout against Miguel Ruiz at the Stadium, Bakersfield, USA.
Azumah Nelson won the vacant Commonwealth featherweight title on September 26, 1981 beating Brian Roberts via technical knockout at Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana. His next fight was against Nigeria’s Kabiru Akindele at Siaka Stevens National Stadium, Freetown, Sierra Leone where Nelson retained his Commonwealth featherweight title. After his victory over Akindele, Nelson defended his Commonwealth featherweight title against Charm Chituele at the Woodlands Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia. Nelson won the bout by technical knockout in the tenth round.
Eyeing the WBC and The Ring featherweight titles, Nelson faced Salvador Sanchez at the Madison Square Garden, New York, USA on July 21, 1982. Sanchez won by technical knockout, making it Nelson’s first loss as a professional boxer. After losing to Sanchez, Nelson won his next four fights, including victories over Irving Mitchell, Ricky Wallace and Alvin Fowler.
On November 25, 1983, Nelson retained his Commonwealth featherweight title overcoming Kabiru Akindele once again at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
On December 8, 1984, Nelson won the WBC featherweight title by defeating Wilfredo Gómez by knockout at the Hiram Bithom Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Between September 1985 and August 1987, Juvenal Ordines, Pat Cowdell, Marcos Villasana, Danilo Cabrera, Mauro Gutierrez and Marcos Villasana all took shots at Nelson’s WBC featherweight title. However, Nelson quelled their efforts, winning two of the bouts by technical knockout.
Azumah Nelson won the vacant WBC super featherweight title on February 29, 1988 by defeating Mario Martinez at the Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, USA.
On June 25, 1988, he warded off Lupe Suarez’s challenge at his WBC super featherweight title defeating him by technical knockout at the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. Between December 1988 and November 1989, Nelson successfully defended his WBC featherweight title by beating Sidnei Dai Rovere, Mario Martinez, and British boxer, Jim McDonnell. On May 19, 1990, Nelson lost by a unanimous decision to Pernell Whitaker at the Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
On October 13, 1990, Nelson regained his WBC featherweight title by defeating Juan Laporte by a unanimous decision at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, New South Wales, Australia. On March 16, 1991, Nelson defeated Daniyal Mustapha Ennin by knockout at the Polideportivo Principal Felipe, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. Nelson’s first of his three fights against Jeff Fenech ended in a split draw at The Mirage, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. However, the WBC awarded Fenech retrospectively the title on November 7, 1992 after WBC’s recount.
On March 1, 1992, Nelson regained his WBC super featherweight title overcoming Fenech in their second fight at Princess Park Football Ground, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Nelson defeated Calvin Grove by a unanimous decision on November 7, 1992 at the Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada, USA. On February 20, 1993, Nelson defeated Gabriel Ruetas of Mexico by a majority decision to retain his WBC super featherweight title at the Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico. On September 10, 1993, Nelson’s first fight with Jesse James Leija ended in a draw at the Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
Sadly, Nelson lost his WBC super featherweight title to Leija in their second fight at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
On December 1, 1995, the never-say-die Azumah Nelson bounced back from his loss to Leija by defeating Gabriel Ruetas in their second fight at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, USA and regained his WBC super featherweight title. Meeting Leija for the third time on June 1, 1996 at the Boulder Station, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, Nelson retained his WBC featherweight title. After winning his third fight with Leija, Nelson lost his last three fights to the trio of Genaro Hernandez, Jesse James Leija and Jeff Fenech respectively. In all, Nelson had 46 fights, 37 wins, 7 losses and 2 draws.
Nelson, also dubbed ‘The Terrible Warrior’, was an outstandingly successful boxer. Though well-liked in Africa, Nelson was almost unknown when he was picked as a late substitute against the dreaded Salvador Sánchez of Mexico in July 1982. Nelson gave Salvador a run for his money before the Mexican eventually overcame him through a technical knockout in the final round. His remarkable showing against Salvador automatically put him on the spotlight and made him a force to be reckoned with in subsequent fights.
Nelson’s four-fight rival, Jesse James Leija, reminiscing about his four bouts against the Ghanaian fighter said: “He was great. He knew every trick in the book. It was always a constant battle with him, more of the mind than anything else because you were going to try to figure out what he’s going to do next. He would lure you into thinking he was hurt or slowing down and all of a sudden, he’d throw a four, five punch combination, all of them with power. You never knew what to expect. You had to be on your toes every single second of every single round with Azumah.”
References:
- “BOXING: A Fight for Recognition and 2 Titles”. The New York Times. 19 May 1990.
- “Comfort Atwei Quarcoo: The womb that birthed the legend Azumah Nelson”. GhanaWeb, 25 January 2023.
- Wainwrigh, A. “Best I Faced: Azuma Nelson”. 2023 RING TV LIVE.
