In a career spanning 28 years and six months, Azumah Nelson fought 46 times with 38 wins, 6 losses, and 2 draws. By his last professional fight on June 24, 2008, Nelson's boxing record stood at 38-6-2 (27 KO wins, 1 KO loss).
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Featured Opponents
Azumah Nelson (The Professor) is a retired Ghanaian professional boxer. He was born in Accra, Ghana on July 19, 1958. Nelson made his professional boxing debut at the age of 21, on December 1, 1979. He is a former two-weight-class world champion. He is 64 years old, and will be turning 65 in one month and 10 days. Nelson is a Hall of Famer.
Total Fights | 46 |
---|---|
Wins | 38 |
Losses | 6 |
Draws | 2 |
No-Contests | 0 |
KO Wins | 27 |
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Total Title Wins | 3 |
Title Defenses | 15 |
Title-Fight KO Wins | 12 |
Losses via KO | 1 |
# | Date | Age | Opponent | Result | Via |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
46 | Jun 24, 2008 | 49 | Jeff Fenech | Loss | MD |
45 | Jul 11, 1998 | 39 | Jesse James Leija | Loss | UD |
44 | Mar 22, 1997 | 38 | Genaro Hernández | Loss * | SD |
43 | Jun 1, 1996 | 37 | Jesse James Leija | Win * | TKO6 |
42 | Dec 1, 1995 | 37 | Gabriel Ruelas | Win * | TKO5 |
41 | May 7, 1994 | 35 | Jesse James Leija | Loss * | UD |
40 | Sep 10, 1993 | 35 | Jesse James Leija | Draw * | SD |
39 | Feb 20, 1993 | 34 | Gabriel Ruelas | Win * | MD |
38 | Nov 7, 1992 | 34 | Calvin Grove | Win * | UD |
37 | Mar 1, 1992 | 33 | Jeff Fenech | Win * | TKO8 |
36 | Jun 28, 1991 | 32 | Jeff Fenech | Draw * | SD |
35 | Mar 16, 1991 | 32 | Daniyal Mustapha Ennin | Win | KO4 |
34 | Oct 13, 1990 | 32 | Juan Laporte | Win * | UD |
33 | May 19, 1990 | 31 | Pernell Whitaker | Loss * | UD |
32 | Nov 5, 1989 | 31 | Jim McDonnell | Win * | KO12 |
31 | Feb 25, 1989 | 30 | Mario MartĂnez | Win * | TKO12 |
30 | Dec 10, 1988 | 30 | Sidnei Dal Rovere | Win * | KO3 |
29 | Jun 25, 1988 | 29 | Lupe Suarez | Win * | TKO9 |
28 | Feb 29, 1988 | 29 | Mario MartĂnez | Win * | SD |
27 | Aug 29, 1987 | 29 | Marcos Villasana | Win * | UD |
26 | Mar 7, 1987 | 28 | Mauro Gutierrez | Win * | KO6 |
25 | Jun 22, 1986 | 27 | Danilo Cabrera | Win * | TKO10 |
24 | Feb 25, 1986 | 27 | Marcos Villasana | Win * | MD |
23 | Oct 12, 1985 | 27 | Pat Cowdell | Win * | KO1 |
22 | Sep 6, 1985 | 27 | Juvenal Ordenes | Win * | TKO5 |
21 | Dec 8, 1984 | 26 | Wilfredo GĂłmez | Win * | KO11 |
20 | Mar 9, 1984 | 25 | Hector Cortez | Win | UD |
19 | Nov 25, 1983 | 25 | Kabiru Akindele | Win | KO9 |
18 | Sep 23, 1983 | 25 | Alberto Collazo | Win | TKO2 |
17 | Aug 17, 1983 | 25 | Alvin Fowler | Win | TKO2 |
16 | Feb 12, 1983 | 24 | Ricky Wallace | Win | UD |
15 | Oct 31, 1982 | 24 | Irving Mitchell | Win | TKO5 |
14 | Jul 21, 1982 | 24 | Salvador Sánchez | Loss * | TKO15 |
13 | Jun 26, 1982 | 23 | Mukaila Bukare | Win | TKO6 |
12 | Feb 28, 1982 | 23 | Charm Chiteule | Win | TKO10 |
11 | Dec 4, 1981 | 23 | Kabiru Akindele | Win | KO6 |
10 | Sep 26, 1981 | 23 | Brian Roberts | Win | TKO5 |
9 | Aug 18, 1981 | 23 | Miguel Ruiz | Win | TKO4 |
8 | May 2, 1981 | 22 | Don George | Win | KO5 |
7 | Mar 6, 1981 | 22 | Aziza Bossou | Win | PTS |
6 | Dec 13, 1980 | 22 | Joe Skipper | Win | TKO10 |
5 | Oct 4, 1980 | 22 | David Capo | Win | PTS |
4 | Aug 2, 1980 | 22 | Abdul Rahman Optoki | Win | TKO8 |
3 | Mar 1, 1980 | 21 | Henry Saddler | Win | TKO9 |
2 | Feb 2, 1980 | 21 | Nii Nuer | Win | TKO3 |
1 | Dec 1, 1979 | 21 | Billy Kwame | Win | PTS |
* World-title fight
Nelson was a two-weight-division world champion. He has held three world titles, one of which was a vacant title win, and the rest two were lineal championship wins.
Weight Division | World Titles Held |
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Super-featherweight | WBC 2x |
Featherweight | WBC |
Azumah Nelson is 165 cm tall (5' 4.96") with a reach of 173 cm (5' 8.11"). He fights out of the orthodox stance and presents an ape-index of 8 cm (3.15").
Nelson has a 58.7% KO rate. Of his total 27 KO wins, seven were in the early rounds, 11 in the mid rounds, and nine in the later rounds. He has one first-round KO win.
Azumah Nelson's professional boxing career spanned more than 28 years — from 1979 to 2008.
Nelson made his professional boxing debut against Billy Kwame at the age of 21 on December 1, 1979, defeating Kwame via 10 round PTS. He went on to win 12 more consecutive fights after the debut, which included 10 wins via stoppage.
Nelson had his first world title fight at the age of 24 on July 21, 1982 after 13 professional fights, against Salvador Sánchez for the WBC and The Ring titles. He lost to Sánchez via 15th round TKO.
Nelson has won three world titles at two weight classes. For all the details about Nelson's world title wins and defenses refer to "Azumah Nelson World Titles".
Some of Nelson's best fights and notable victories include wins over two Hall-of-Famers (Jeff Fenech and Wilfredo GĂłmez), Jesse James Leija, Mario MartĂnez, and Juan Laporte.
Nelson had a total of six losses in his professional boxing career.
His last professional fight was a non-title rematch against Australian boxer Jeff Fenech on June 24, 2008. Nelson lost the fight via 10 round majority decision. It's been 14 years, 11 months, and 16 days since this fight.
Nelson fought a total of 46 times during his professional career, which includes 24 world-title fights at three weight divisions — super-featherweight, lightweight, and featherweight. He was among the very best of his generation and put on some great performances in his fights. These five fights are the highlight of his career.
July 21, 1982: In his first world-title fight, Azumah Nelson loses to Salvador Sánchez via 15th round TKO. He was fighting for the WBC and The Ring featherweight titles.
December 8, 1984: Nelson wins the WBC featherweight title from Wilfredo GĂłmez, by beating GĂłmez via 11th round KO.
February 25, 1989: Nelson successfully defends the WBC super-featherweight title against Mario MartĂnez, winning the fight via 12th round TKO.
March 1, 1992: Nelson successfully defends the WBC super-featherweight title against Jeff Fenech, winning the fight via 8th round TKO.
June 1, 1996: Nelson successfully defends the WBC super-featherweight title against Jesse James Leija, winning the fight via 6th round TKO.
The following is a fight-by-fight progression of Nelson's boxing career; all the way from his debut, to winning world-titles, to his last fight against Jeff Fenech, and all the other wins and losses of his career.
On June 24, 2008, in their 3rd fight, a a 49-year old Azumah Nelson (38-5-2, 27 KO) fought Jeff Fenech again, who was now 44 years old with a record of 28-3-1. Fenech was on a one-fight losing streak, and was the taller of the two by 6 cms but Nelson had a 2 cm reach advantage over Fenech. Coming into this fight, Fenech had three losses, all of which were via stoppage
Nelson lost to Fenech via 10 round majority decision. He is now on a three-fight losing streak. This was the last professional fight of his boxing career.
On July 11, 1998, in their 4th fight, a a 39-year old Azumah Nelson (38-4-2, 27 KO) fought Jesse James Leija again, who was now 32 years old with a record of 36-3-2. Leija was on a six-fight win streak with 15 KO wins. Both the boxers were of the same height but Nelson had a 3 cm reach advantage over Leija. Coming into this fight, Leija had three losses, two of which were via stoppage.
Nelson lost to Leija via 12 round unanimous decision. He is now on a two-fight losing streak.
On March 22, 1997, a 38-year old Azumah Nelson (38-3-2, 27 KO) faced American boxer Genaro Hernández, who was 30 years old with a record of 34-1-1 in a super-featherweight title-defense fight. Hernández was on a two-fight win streak with 17 KO wins, and was the taller of the two by 15 cms and also had a 10 cm reach advantage over Nelson. Coming into this fight, Hernández had a single loss, which was via stoppage.
Nelson lost to Hernández via 12 round split-decision and lost the WBC super-featherweight title. His two-fight win streak is halted with this loss.
On June 1, 1996, in their 3rd fight, a 37-year old Azumah Nelson (37-3-2, 26 KO) faced Jesse James Leija again, who was now 29 years old with a record of 30-2-2 in a super-featherweight title-defense fight. Leija was on a one-fight losing streak. Both the boxers were of the same height but Nelson had a 3 cm reach advantage over Leija. Coming into this fight, Leija had two losses, one of which was via stoppage.
Nelson defeated Leija via 6th round TKO to retain the WBC super-featherweight title. He is now on a two-fight winning streak, with two back-to-back KO wins.
On December 1, 1995, in their 2nd fight, a a 37-year old Azumah Nelson (36-3-2, 25 KO) faced Gabriel Ruelas for Ruelas' WBC super-featherweight title. He defeated Ruelas via 5th round TKO to win the WBC super-featherweight title, making a successful comeback from his last loss..
On May 7, 1994, in their 2nd fight, which was an immediate rematch, a 35-year old Azumah Nelson (36-2-2, 25 KO) faced an undefeated Jesse James Leija again, who was now 27 years old with a record of 27-0-2 in a super-featherweight title-defense fight. Leija was on a one-fight win streak with 13 KO wins. Both the boxers were of the same height but Nelson had a 3 cm reach advantage over Leija.
Nelson lost to Leija via 12 round unanimous decision and lost the WBC super-featherweight title.
On September 10, 1993, a 35-year old Azumah Nelson (36-2-1, 25 KO) faced an undefeated American boxer Jesse James Leija for the first time, who was 27 years old with a record of 26-0-1 in a super-featherweight title-defense fight. Leija was on a 11-fight win streak with 12 KO wins. Both the boxers were of the same height but Nelson had a 3 cm reach advantage over Leija.
The fight ended in a 12 round split-decision draw and both the boxers retained their titles and added a draw to their respective records. A good performance, nonetheless.
On February 20, 1993, a 34-year old Azumah Nelson (35-2-1, 25 KO) faced Gabriel Ruelas in a super-featherweight title-defense fight. He defeated Ruelas via 12th round majority decision to retain the WBC super-featherweight title. He is now on a three-fight winning streak.
On November 7, 1992, a 34-year old Azumah Nelson (34-2-1, 25 KO) faced Calvin Grove in a super-featherweight title-defense fight. He defeated Grove via 12th round unanimous decision to retain the WBC super-featherweight title. He is now on a two-fight winning streak.
On March 1, 1992, in their 2nd fight, which was an immediate rematch, a 33-year old Azumah Nelson (33-2-1, 24 KO) faced an undefeated Jeff Fenech again, who was now 27 years old with a record of 26-0-1 in a super-featherweight title-defense fight. Fenech was on a one-fight win streak with 19 KO wins, and was the taller of the two by 6 cms but Nelson had a 2 cm reach advantage over Fenech.
Nelson defeated Fenech via 8th round TKO to retain the WBC super-featherweight title. He handed Fenech the first loss of his career.
On June 28, 1991, a 32-year old Azumah Nelson (33-2, 24 KO) faced an undefeated Australian boxer Jeff Fenech for the first time, who was 27 years old with a record of 25-0 in a super-featherweight title-defense fight. Fenech was on a 25-fight win streak with 19 KO wins, and was the taller of the two by 6 cms but Nelson had a 2 cm reach advantage over Fenech.
The fight ended in a 12 round split-decision draw and both the boxers retained their titles and added a draw to their respective records. A good performance, nonetheless.
On March 16, 1991, a 32-year old Azumah Nelson (32-2, 23 KO) fought Daniyal Mustapha Ennin in his 35th professional fight. He defeated Ennin via 4th round KO. He is now on a two-fight winning streak.
On October 13, 1990, a 32-year old Azumah Nelson (31-2, 23 KO) faced Puerto Rican boxer Juan Laporte, who was 30 years old with a record of 36-9-1 in a super-featherweight title-defense fight. Laporte was coming off a draw against Felix Gonzales in his last fight. Both the boxers were of the same height and same reach. Coming into this fight, Laporte had nine losses, but had never been stopped.
Nelson defeated Laporte via 12 round unanimous decision to retain the WBC super-featherweight title, making a successful comeback from his last loss.
On May 19, 1990, a 31-year old Azumah Nelson (31-1, 23 KO) faced American boxer Pernell Whitaker, who was 26 years old with a record of 21-1. Nelson was challenging Whitaker's WBC and IBF lightweight titles. Whitaker was on a six-fight win streak with 12 KO wins, and was the taller of the two by 3 cms and also had a 2 cm reach advantage over Nelson. Coming into this fight, Whitaker had a single loss, but had never been stopped.
Nelson lost to Whitaker via 12 round unanimous decision. His 18-fight win streak comes to an end with this loss.
On November 5, 1989, a 31-year old Azumah Nelson (30-1, 22 KO) faced Jim McDonnell in a super-featherweight title-defense fight. He defeated McDonnell via 12th round KO to retain the WBC super-featherweight title. He is now on a 18-fight winning streak, with four back-to-back KO wins.
On February 25, 1989, in their 2nd fight, a 30-year old Azumah Nelson (29-1, 21 KO) faced Mario MartĂnez again, who was now 23 years old with a record of 47-4-2 in a super-featherweight title-defense fight. MartĂnez was on a one-fight win streak with 29 KO wins, and was the taller of the two by 3 cms but Nelson had a 5 cm reach advantage over MartĂnez. Coming into this fight, MartĂnez had four losses, one of which was via stoppage.
Nelson defeated MartĂnez via 12th round TKO to retain the WBC super-featherweight title. He is now on a 17-fight winning streak, with three back-to-back KO wins.
On December 10, 1988, a 30-year old Azumah Nelson (28-1, 20 KO) faced Sidnei Dal Rovere in a super-featherweight title-defense fight. He defeated Rovere via 3rd round KO to retain the WBC super-featherweight title. He is now on a 16-fight winning streak, with two back-to-back KO wins.
On June 25, 1988, a 29-year old Azumah Nelson (27-1, 19 KO) faced Lupe Suarez in a super-featherweight title-defense fight. He defeated Suarez via 9th round TKO to retain the WBC super-featherweight title. He is now on a 15-fight winning streak.
On February 29, 1988, a 29-year old Azumah Nelson (26-1, 19 KO) faced Mexican boxer Mario MartĂnez for the first time, who was 22 years old with a record of 46-3-2 for the vacant WBC (vacant) super-featherweight title. MartĂnez was on a eight-fight win streak with 29 KO wins, and was the taller of the two by 3 cms but Nelson had a 5 cm reach advantage over MartĂnez. Coming into this fight, MartĂnez had three losses, one of which was via stoppage.
Nelson defeated MartĂnez via 12 round split-decision to win the vacant WBC super-featherweight title. He is now on a 14-fight winning streak.
On August 29, 1987, in their 2nd fight, a a 29-year old Azumah Nelson (25-1, 19 KO) faced Marcos Villasana in a featherweight title-defense fight. He defeated Villasana via 12th round unanimous decision to retain the WBC featherweight title. He is now on a 13-fight winning streak.
On March 7, 1987, a 28-year old Azumah Nelson (24-1, 18 KO) faced Mauro Gutierrez in a featherweight title-defense fight. He defeated Gutierrez via 6th round KO to retain the WBC featherweight title. He is now on a 12-fight winning streak, with two back-to-back KO wins.
On June 22, 1986, a 27-year old Azumah Nelson (23-1, 17 KO) faced Danilo Cabrera in a featherweight title-defense fight. He defeated Cabrera via 10th round TKO to retain the WBC featherweight title. He is now on a 11-fight winning streak.
On February 25, 1986, a 27-year old Azumah Nelson (22-1, 17 KO) faced Marcos Villasana in a featherweight title-defense fight. He defeated Villasana via 12th round majority decision to retain the WBC featherweight title. He is now on a 10-fight winning streak.
On October 12, 1985, a 27-year old Azumah Nelson (21-1, 16 KO) faced Pat Cowdell in a featherweight title-defense fight. He defeated Cowdell via 1st round KO to retain the WBC featherweight title. He is now on a nine-fight winning streak, with three back-to-back KO wins.
On September 6, 1985, a 27-year old Azumah Nelson (20-1, 15 KO) faced Juvenal Ordenes in a featherweight title-defense fight. He defeated Ordenes via 5th round TKO to retain the WBC featherweight title. He is now on a eight-fight winning streak, with two back-to-back KO wins.
On December 8, 1984, a 26-year old Azumah Nelson (19-1, 14 KO) faced Puerto Rican boxer Wilfredo GĂłmez, who was 28 years old with a record of 41-1-1 for GĂłmez' WBC featherweight title. GĂłmez was on a nine-fight win streak with 40 KO wins, and was the taller of the two by 1 cm but Nelson had a 7 cm reach advantage over GĂłmez. Coming into this fight, GĂłmez had a single loss, which was via stoppage.
Nelson defeated GĂłmez via 11th round KO to win the WBC featherweight title. He is now on a seven-fight winning streak.
On March 9, 1984, a 25-year old Azumah Nelson (18-1, 14 KO) fought Hector Cortez in his 20th professional fight. He defeated Cortez via 10th round unanimous decision. He is now on a six-fight winning streak.
On November 25, 1983, in their 2nd fight, a a 25-year old Azumah Nelson (17-1, 13 KO) fought Kabiru Akindele in his 19th professional fight. He defeated Akindele via 9th round KO. He is now on a five-fight winning streak, with three back-to-back KO wins.
On September 23, 1983, a 25-year old Azumah Nelson (16-1, 12 KO) fought Alberto Collazo in his 18th professional fight. He defeated Collazo via 2nd round TKO. He is now on a four-fight winning streak, with two back-to-back KO wins.
On August 17, 1983, a 25-year old Azumah Nelson (15-1, 11 KO) fought Alvin Fowler in his 17th professional fight. He defeated Fowler via 2nd round TKO. He is now on a three-fight winning streak.
On February 12, 1983, a 24-year old Azumah Nelson (14-1, 11 KO) fought Ricky Wallace in his 16th professional fight. He defeated Wallace via 10th round unanimous decision. He is now on a two-fight winning streak.
On October 31, 1982, a 24-year old Azumah Nelson (13-1, 10 KO) fought Irving Mitchell in his 15th professional fight. He defeated Mitchell via 5th round TKO, making a successful comeback from his last loss..
On July 21, 1982, a 24-year old Azumah Nelson (13-0, 10 KO) challended Mexican boxer Salvador Sánchez's WBC and Ring Magazine featherweight titles. Sánchez was 23 years old with a record of 43-1-1. Sánchez was on a 23-fight win streak with 31 KO wins, and was the taller of the two by 5 cms but both had the same reach. Coming into this fight, Sánchez had a single loss, but had never been stopped.
Nelson lost to Sánchez via 15th round TKO. He suffers the first loss of his career, and his 13-fight win streak comes to an end with this loss.
On June 26, 1982, a 23-year old Azumah Nelson (12-0, 9 KO) fought Mukaila Bukare in his 13th professional fight. He defeated Bukare via 6th round TKO. He is now on a 13-fight winning streak, with six back-to-back KO wins.
On February 28, 1982, a 23-year old Azumah Nelson (11-0, 8 KO) fought Charm Chiteule in his 12th professional fight. He defeated Chiteule via 10th round TKO. He is now on a 12-fight winning streak, with five back-to-back KO wins.
On December 4, 1981, a 23-year old Azumah Nelson (10-0, 7 KO) fought Kabiru Akindele in his 11th professional fight. He defeated Akindele via 6th round KO. He is now on a 11-fight winning streak, with four back-to-back KO wins.
On September 26, 1981, a 23-year old Azumah Nelson (9-0, 6 KO) fought Brian Roberts in his 10th professional fight. He defeated Roberts via 5th round TKO. He is now on a 10-fight winning streak, with three back-to-back KO wins.
On August 18, 1981, a 23-year old Azumah Nelson (8-0, 5 KO) fought Miguel Ruiz in his 9th professional fight. He defeated Ruiz via 4th round TKO. He is now on a nine-fight winning streak, with two back-to-back KO wins.
On May 2, 1981, a 22-year old Azumah Nelson (7-0, 4 KO) fought Don George in his 8th professional fight. He defeated George via 5th round KO. He is now on a eight-fight winning streak.
On March 6, 1981, a 22-year old Azumah Nelson (6-0, 4 KO) fought Aziza Bossou in his 7th professional fight. He defeated Bossou via 8th round PTS. He is now on a seven-fight winning streak.
On December 13, 1980, a 22-year old Azumah Nelson (5-0, 3 KO) fought Joe Skipper in his 6th professional fight. He defeated Skipper via 10th round TKO. He is now on a six-fight winning streak.
On October 4, 1980, a 22-year old Azumah Nelson (4-0, 3 KO) fought David Capo in his 5th professional fight. He defeated Capo via 10th round PTS. He is now on a five-fight winning streak.
On August 2, 1980, a 22-year old Azumah Nelson (3-0, 2 KO) fought Abdul Rahman Optoki in his 4th professional fight. He defeated Optoki via 8th round TKO. He is now on a four-fight winning streak, with three back-to-back KO wins.
On March 1, 1980, a 21-year old Azumah Nelson (2-0, 1 KO) fought Henry Saddler in his 3rd professional fight. He defeated Saddler via 9th round TKO. He is now on a three-fight winning streak, with two back-to-back KO wins.
On February 2, 1980, a 21-year old Azumah Nelson (1-0) fought Nii Nuer in his 2nd professional fight. He defeated Nuer via 3rd round TKO. He is now on a two-fight winning streak.
On December 1, 1979, a 21-year old Azumah Nelson successfully debuted against Billy Kwame. He defeated Kwame via 10th round PTS.
Nelson knocked out 27 of his 46 opponents. By his last fight, his KO ratio was at 58.7%. Of his total 38 wins, 27 of them were via KO (71.1%).