Nigerians love boxing. From the epic days of Samuel Peters to those of Henry Akinwande, Nigerians have an enviable catalog treat of indigenous boxing heroes to look up to.
Indeed, Africa is a continent luxuriously blessed with exceptional boxing talents. Yes, Anthony Joshua may have lost his belts to Usyk, but he proudly remindss of how consistently Africans have conquered the biggest stages in the boxing arena featured on top bookmaker platforms like bookmaker.xyz
This article honorably eulogizes some of the biggest boxing talents Africa could boast of.
John Mugabi (Uganda)
John Mugabibis an Uganda boxer who competed professionally in the Light-middleweight, Middleweight, Super-middleweight, and Light-heavyweight categories of boxing.
Born in March 1960, “the beast” was known for his brutal attacks and boxing style with wild left hooks and overhand rights. He had an impressive boxing career between 1976 and 1999.
In 1976, he lost the final of the World Junior Championship to Herol Graham and won the bronze medal for Uganda in the all-African games two years later. Also, he represented Uganda in the Moscow 1980 Olympics, losing in the Welterweight boxing final to Cuba’s Andrés Aldama.
Moving to London, he won his first 10 matches in the continent before looking for more challenges elsewhere.
He won the 1989 WBC super-welterweight title and was challenged twice for the world middleweight titles and undisputed championship. John had 42 wins of his 50 fights, and 39 9 of them were KO.
However, he lost 7 times and drew once. He is 38 on Ring Magazine’s 100 greatest punchers of all time.
Vic Toweel (South Africa)
Victor “Vic” Anthony Toweel was born on 12 January 1928, and he was the first South African world title holder in the bantamweight class.
He was famous for his tireless and non-stop batteries of punches, as well as outstanding balance, stamina, and work ethic.
His professional career started in January 1949 when he knocked Johannes Landman out in the second round.
Four fights on, Vic won the SA bantamweight title against veteran Jimmy Webstar. He became the British Empire Bantamweight and world champion in his 11th fight and 14th fight, respectively.
At 21, he defended his title 3 times and won 10 other fights unrelated to the title. He knocked down Danny Sullivan 14 times, a world record, in one of his title defenses.
Victor’s last fight was in November 1953, and throughout his 32 career fights, he won 28, lost 3,
and drew 1, with 14 KOs.
Isufu Quartey (Ghana)
Isufu “Ike” Quartey, born on 27 November 1969, was a professional boxer between 1988 and 2006.
The Ghanaian boxer competed in the Light-welterweight, Welterweight, and Light-middleweight weight classes and was fondly called Bazooka. He is known for his deadly jabs and clam-shell defenses at his prime.
Further, he debuted professionally in 1988 and knocked out Crisanto España for the WBA welterweight title in the 11th round. Isufu won six of his seven title defenses and drew only against José Luis Lópe.
In all his 42 career fights, he won 37 with 31 knockouts. He also lost 4 fights and drew once.
Brian Mitchell (South Africa)
Brian Mitchell is a former South African boxer who fought in the Super-featherweight boxing class. He was born in Johannesburg on 30 August 1961 and had a professional boxing career
between 1981 and 1995.
He is one of the greatest fighters South Africa has ever produced.
Brian became the WBA super-featherweight champion in 1986 and held it for 5 years. Likewise, he won the Ring super-featherweight and the IBF super-featherweight titles in 1986 and 1991, respectively.
Finally, he permanently retired from boxing in 1995 with 45 wins (21 KOs), losing 1, and drawing 3 times. Brian won 12 junior–lightweight title defenses. In 2009, Mitchel got inducted into the
International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Dick Tiger (Nigeria)
Richard Ihetu, known as Dick Tiger, was a former Nigerian professional boxer who fought in the Middleweight and Light-heavyweight classes.
He was born on 14 August, 1929, in Nigeria and was one of the greatest African boxers of all time.
Dick Tiger left Nigeria for England to pursue his boxing career, and he won the undisputed world middleweight championship twice. In 1962, he defeated Gene Fullmer to become the WBA middleweight champion. Tiger also became the light heavyweight champion when he beat José Torres in 1966.
Further, he was named 1962 and 1966 Fighter of the Year by BWAA and was voted one of the 1960s best boxers.
In 1991, Tiger was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and his name was added to the 20th Century’s best boxers. He won 60 (27 KO) of his 82 fights and lost 19, with 3 draws.
Azumah Nelson (Ghana)
Azumah Nelson was born on 19 July 1958 and competed as a professional Featherweight, Super-featherweight, and Lightweight boxer between 1979 and 2008.
He currently ranks 31st in BoxRec’s list of the greatest pound-to-pound boxers and is widely called the best all-time African boxer.
In 1984, Nelson won the WBC featherweight title and held it for 3 years. He also became WBC super-featherweight champion in 1988 and 1997.
Nelson also won the 1980 and 1982 Commonwealth featherweight titles. He won 39 of his 47 fights, and 28 were knockouts. However, he has six losses and two draws.
Conclusion
Boxing requires both physical and mental strength. The sport has witnessed many Africans at their best over the years.
While we’ve mentioned some of the greatest African boxers like Azumah Nelson, Dick Tiger, and others, there a still other active boxers with African heritage, like Anthony Joshua.
