Azumah Nelson

Nelson competed at the 1978 All-Africa Games and 1978 Commonwealth Games,^[7] winning gold medals in featherweight at both events. He was awarded Amateur Boxer of the year by the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) that same year.^[8]

However, Nelson was virtually unknown outside Ghana.^[9] Because of this, he was a decisive underdog when, on short notice, he challenged WBC featherweight champion Salvador Sánchez on 21 July 1982 at the Madison Square Garden in New York.^[9] Nelson lost the fight by a 15th-round technical knockout.

Featherweight champion#edit

Nelson won all four of his fights in 1983, and he began 1984 by beating Hector Cortez by decision on 9 March in Las Vegas. Then, on 8 December of that year, he became boxing royalty by knocking out Wilfredo Gómez in round 11 to win the WBC featherweight championship.^[10] Behind on the three judges' scorecards, Nelson rallied in that round to become champion in Puerto Rico.

Super-featherweight champion#edit

Nelson began 1988 by defeating Mario Martinez by a split decision over 12 rounds in Los Angeles, to win the vacant WBC super-featherweight title. Nelson was dropped in the 10th round of their encounter, and the decision was not well received.^[11]

On 1 December 1995, he defeated world champion Gabriel Ruelas in the fifth round to claim the title.^[12]

His first defense took place almost a year later, when he and Jesse James Leija had their third bout. Nelson retained the title with a sixth-round knockout. That was the only fight Nelson had in 1996, as had become his custom.^[13]

In 1997, Nelson lost the Lineal and WBC titles to Genaro Hernandez, when he beaten on points after 12 rounds.^[14]

The Azumah Nelson Sports Complex at Kaneshie in Accra was named after him.^[15]

In 2014, a biography of Azumah Nelson, written by Ashley Morrison and titled The Professor – The Life Story of Azumah Nelson (ISBN 978-1628571059), was published by Strategic Book Publishing.^[16]

Nelson has six children.^[17] He is currently married to Priscilla Boakye Nelson.^{[citation needed]}

In July 2018, Azumah organized a fight night to celebrate his 60th birthday at Bukom Boxing Arena. This event brought together fighters from highly-rated gyms in the country to fight contenders in their divisions. Some dignitaries, including formers sports ministers Nii Lante Vanderpuiye and Nii Amarkai Amarteifio, the British High Commissioner to Ghana Ian Walker, 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.^[18]

• List of featherweight boxing champions
• List of super featherweight boxing champions
• List of WBA world champions
• List of WBC world champions

1. ^ "BOXING; A Fight for Recognition and 2 Titles". The New York Times. 19 May 1990. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
2. ^ a b HBO Sports tale of the tape prior to the third Jesse James Leija fight.
3. ^ Nketsiah, Benjamin (25 January 2023). "Comfort Atwei Quarcoo: The womb that birthed the legend Azumah Nelson". GhanaWeb. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
4. ^ Barnett, Errol (11 August 2012). "Is Azumah Nelson Africa's greatest boxer?". CNN. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
5. ^ Smith, Timothy W. (11 July 1998). "Story: BOXING: The Best Boxer Nobody Knows; After 19 Years, the Career of a Ghanaian Legend Nears an End". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
6. ^ "BoxRec: Ratings". Boxrec.com. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
7. ^ "Boxing 57kg - Men Edmonton 1978 | Commonwealth Games Federation". thecgf.com. Archived from the original on 25 August 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
8. ^ "Ike Quartey". mobile.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
9. ^ a b Katz, Michael (22 July 1982). "SANCHEZ KNOCKS OUT NELSON IN THE 15TH". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
10. ^ "Nelson Takes Title". The New York Times. 10 December 1984.
11. ^ Gustkey, Earl (1 March 1988). "Age and Zaragoza Catch Up With Zarate : Nelson Takes Unpopular Split Decision for Super-Featherweight Title". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
12. ^ Springer, Steve (2 December 1995). "Ruelas Is KO'd by Nelson, Specter : Boxing: Champion loses his WBC title to 37-year-old challenger after "seeing" boxer who died after his previous fight". LA Times. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
13. ^ Kawakami, Tim (2 June 1996). "Nelson Retains WBC Title With a Sixth-Round TKO". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
14. ^ "Azumah Nelson (the 'Professor') | Lineal Jr. Lightweight Champion". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
15. ^ "Sporting facilities and events renamed". BusinessGhana. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
16. ^ "The Professor, The Life Story of Azumah Nelson". Graphic Online. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2026.
17. ^ "Azumah Nelson backs son to become world champion". 21 August 2017. Archived from the original on 24 November 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
18. ^ "Knockout galore as Azumah crowns 60th anniversary with Azumah Nelson Fight Night". www.ghanaweb.com. 22 July 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2019.

• Azumah Nelson at BoxRec (registration required)
• Azumah Nelson - CBZ Profile