Azumah Nelson (The Professor) is a 66-year-old retired Ghanaian professional boxer. He is a two-weightclass world champion with 3 world-title wins. In a career spanning 28 years, 6 months, and 23 days, Nelson amassed a record of 38-6-2, which includes 27 wins via KO, 12 of which were in world-title fights. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) in 2004.
Azumah Nelson was born in Accra, Ghana on July 19, 1958. He made his professional debut at the age of 21 years on December 1, 1979 against Billy Kwame. Nelson defeated Kwame via 10 round points decision, making a successful beginning of his pro career.
Nelson got his first world-title fight at the age of 24 after 13 professional fights. On July 21, 1982 Nelson challenged Salvador Sánchez' WBC and The Ring featherweight titles but lost via 15th round TKO.
He became a world champion on December 8, 1984 at the age of 26 years, after by defeating Wilfredo Gómez, the then-reining WBC featherweight champion, via 11th round KO. This was his 21st fight as a professional.
Nelson then went on to successfully win the super-featherweight (WBC) titles also to become a two-division world champion.
Nelson's last fight was a majority decision loss to Jeff Fenech at age 49, on June 24, 2008.
Some of Azumah Nelson's best fights have been against Wilfredo Gómez (HOFer), Jeff Fenech (HOFer), Gabriel Ruelas, Jesse James Leija, Mario Martínez, and Juan Laporte. For a complete list of Nelson's best fights and their details, refer to "Best fights of Azumah Nelson".
Nelson has 6 losses on his record. For details about these losses refer to "Azumah Nelson Losses".
# | Date | Age | Opponent | Res | Via |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
46 | Jun 24, 2008 | 49 |
Jeff Fenech 44 28-3-1 | loss | MD 10 |
45 | Jul 11, 1998 | 39 |
Jesse James Leija 32 36-3-2 | loss | UD 12 |
44 | Mar 22, 1997 | 38 |
Genaro Hernández 30 34-1-1 | loss | SD 12 |
43 | Jun 01, 1996 | 37 |
Jesse James Leija 29 30-2-2 | win | TKO 6 |
42 | Dec 01, 1995 | 37 |
Gabriel Ruelas 25 41-2 | win | TKO 5 |
41 | May 07, 1994 | 35 |
Jesse James Leija 27 27-0-2 | loss | UD 12 |
40 | Sep 10, 1993 | 35 |
Jesse James Leija 27 26-0-1 | draw | SD 12 |
39 | Feb 20, 1993 | 34 |
Gabriel Ruelas 22 33-1 | win | MD 12 |
38 | Nov 07, 1992 | 34 | Calvin Grove | win | UD 12 |
37 | Mar 01, 1992 | 33 |
Jeff Fenech 27 26-0-1 | win | TKO 8 |
36 | Jun 28, 1991 | 32 |
Jeff Fenech 27 25-0 | draw | SD 12 |
35 | Mar 16, 1991 | 32 | Daniyal Mustapha Ennin | win | KO 4 |
34 | Oct 13, 1990 | 32 |
Juan Laporte 30 36-9-1 | win | UD 12 |
33 | May 19, 1990 | 31 |
Pernell Whitaker 26 21-1 | loss | UD 12 |
32 | Nov 05, 1989 | 31 | Jim McDonnell | win | KO 12 |
31 | Feb 25, 1989 | 30 |
Mario Martínez 23 47-4-2 | win | TKO 12 |
30 | Dec 10, 1988 | 30 | Sidnei Dal Rovere | win | KO 3 |
29 | Jun 25, 1988 | 29 | Lupe Suarez | win | TKO 9 |
28 | Feb 29, 1988 | 29 |
Mario Martínez 22 46-3-2 | win | SD 12 |
27 | Aug 29, 1987 | 29 | Marcos Villasana | win | UD 12 |
26 | Mar 07, 1987 | 28 | Mauro Gutierrez | win | KO 6 |
25 | Jun 22, 1986 | 27 | Danilo Cabrera | win | TKO 10 |
24 | Feb 25, 1986 | 27 | Marcos Villasana | win | MD 12 |
23 | Oct 12, 1985 | 27 | Pat Cowdell | win | KO 1 |
22 | Sep 06, 1985 | 27 | Juvenal Ordenes | win | TKO 5 |
21 | Dec 08, 1984 | 26 |
Wilfredo Gómez 28 41-1-1 | win | KO 11 |
20 | Mar 09, 1984 | 25 | Hector Cortez | win | UD 10 |
19 | Nov 25, 1983 | 25 | Kabiru Akindele | win | KO 9 |
18 | Sep 23, 1983 | 25 | Alberto Collazo | win | TKO 2 |
17 | Aug 17, 1983 | 25 | Alvin Fowler | win | TKO 2 |
16 | Feb 12, 1983 | 24 | Ricky Wallace | win | UD 10 |
15 | Oct 31, 1982 | 24 | Irving Mitchell | win | TKO 5 |
14 | Jul 21, 1982 | 24 |
Salvador Sánchez 23 43-1-1 | loss | TKO 15 |
13 | Jun 26, 1982 | 23 | Mukaila Bukare | win | TKO 6 |
12 | Feb 28, 1982 | 23 | Charm Chiteule | win | TKO 10 |
11 | Dec 04, 1981 | 23 | Kabiru Akindele | win | KO 6 |
10 | Sep 26, 1981 | 23 | Brian Roberts | win | TKO 5 |
9 | Aug 18, 1981 | 23 | Miguel Ruiz | win | TKO 4 |
8 | May 02, 1981 | 22 | Don George | win | KO 5 |
7 | Mar 06, 1981 | 22 | Aziza Bossou | win | PTS 8 |
6 | Dec 13, 1980 | 22 | Joe Skipper | win | TKO 10 |
5 | Oct 04, 1980 | 22 | David Capo | win | PTS 10 |
4 | Aug 02, 1980 | 22 | Abdul Rahman Optoki | win | TKO 8 |
3 | Mar 01, 1980 | 21 | Henry Saddler | win | TKO 9 |
2 | Feb 02, 1980 | 21 | Nii Nuer | win | TKO 3 |
1 | Dec 01, 1979 | 21 | Billy Kwame | win | PTS 10 |