Ilunga Makabu (30-4, 26) was born in Kananga, Democratic Republic of the Congo on November 8, 1987. At the age of 20 years on June 20, 2008, he made his professional boxing debut against Khayeni Hlungwane, losing the fight via 1st-round TKO.
On his 21st career fight at 28 years old, Ilunga Makabu got a shot at the WBC cruiserweight titles against Tony Bellew on May 29, 2016 but lost the fight via 3rd-round KO.
He became a cruiserweight world champion (WBC) on January 31, 2020 at the age of 32 years old, on his 29th career fight, after defeating Michał Cieślak via 12-round unanimous decision.
Makabu's last fight was a 3rd-round KO win against Wagdy Attia at age 37 on December 21, 2024. He is on a 1-fight winning streak.
Some of Ilunga Makabu's best fights have been against Dmytro Kucher, Michał Cieślak, Alexei Papin, Dmitry Kudryashov, Thabiso Mchunu and Glen Johnson. For details about these fights refer to "Best fights of Ilunga Makabu".
Makabu has 4 losses on his boxing record. For details about these losses refer to "Ilunga Makabu Losses".
| # | Date | Opponent | Weight | Round | Method | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
34 | Dec 21, 2024 37 years, 1 months 30-4 (26) | Wagdy Attia | CR | 3 | KO | Win |
33  | Nov 4, 2023 35 years, 11 months 29-4 (25) | 33 years, 1 month 26-2 (11) | CR | 3 | TKO | Loss For WBC Vacant |
32  | Feb 26, 2023 35 years, 3 months 29-3 (25) | 39 years, 3 months 27-3-3 (16) | CR | 12 | TKO | Loss Lost WBC |
31  | Jan 29, 2022 34 years, 2 months 29-2 (25) | 33 years, 10 months 23-5 (13) | CR | 12 | SD | Win Defended WBC |
30 | Dec 19, 2020 33 years, 1 months 28-2 (25) | Olanrewaju Durodola | CR | 7 | TKO | Win Defended WBC |
29  | Jan 31, 2020 32 years, 2 months 27-2 (24) | 30 years, 9 months 19-0 (13) | CR | 12 | UD | Win Won WBC Vacant |
28  | Aug 24, 2019 31 years, 9 months 26-2 (24) | 31 years, 10 months 11-0 (10) | CR | 12 | MD | Win |
27  | Jun 16, 2019 31 years, 7 months 25-2 (24) | 33 years, 7 months 23-2 (23) | CR | 5 | TKO | Win |
26 | Dec 8, 2018 31 years, 1 months 24-2 (23) | Giorgi Tevdorashvili | CR | 2 | KO | Win |
25 | Oct 26, 2018 30 years, 11 months 23-2 (22) | Paata Aduashvili | CR | 2 | KO | Win |
24 | Sep 22, 2018 30 years, 10 months 22-2 (21) | Taylor Mabika | CR | 4 | RTD | Win |
23 | Aug 25, 2017 29 years, 9 months 21-2 (20) | Mussa Ajibu | CR | 4 | KO | Win |
22 | Apr 28, 2017 29 years, 5 months 20-2 (19) | Chamunorwa Gonorenda | CR | 5 | KO | Win |
21  | May 29, 2016 28 years, 6 months 19-2 (18) | 33 years, 5 months 26-2-1 (16) | CR | 3 | KO | Loss For WBC Vacant |
20 | May 26, 2015 27 years, 6 months 19-1 (18) | Thabiso Mchunu | CR | 11 | KO | Win |
19 | Dec 5, 2014 27 years 18-1 (17) | Tamas Bajzath | CR | 3 | TKO | Win |
18  | Jun 28, 2014 26 years, 7 months 17-1 (16) | 45 years, 5 months 54-18-2 (37) | CR | 9 | TKO | Win |
17 | Feb 1, 2014 26 years, 2 months 16-1 (15) | Ruben Angel Mino | CR | 2 | KO | Win |
16 | Aug 31, 2013 25 years, 9 months 15-1 (14) | Eric Fields | CR | 5 | KO | Win |
15  | Jul 13, 2013 25 years, 8 months 14-1 (13) | 28 years, 10 months 21-0 (15) | CR | 12 | MD | Win |
14 | Mar 30, 2013 25 years, 4 months 13-1 (13) | Tamas Lodi | CR | 3 | TKO | Win |
13 | Feb 16, 2013 25 years, 3 months 12-1 (12) | Gogita Gorgiladze | CR | 4 | TKO | Win |
12 | Apr 24, 2012 24 years, 5 months 11-1 (11) | Michael Gbenga | CR | 5 | TKO | Win |
11 | Nov 19, 2011 24 years 10-1 (10) | Pedro Otas | CR | 11 | TKO | Win |
10 | Jun 11, 2011 23 years, 7 months 9-1 (9) | Collice Mutizwa | 1 | KO | Win | |
9 | Mar 26, 2011 23 years, 4 months 8-1 (8) | Nsitu Mbaya | 1 | KO | Win | |
8 | Oct 30, 2010 22 years, 11 months 7-1 (7) | Danie Venter | 6 | TKO | Win | |
7 | Mar 27, 2010 22 years, 4 months 6-1 (6) | Elvis Moyo | 2 | TKO | Win | |
6 | Mar 7, 2010 22 years, 3 months 5-1 (5) | Ben Moakamela | 2 | TKO | Win | |
5 | Feb 26, 2010 22 years, 3 months 4-1 (4) | Chamunorwa Gonorenda | 2 | TKO | Win | |
4 | Jul 3, 2009 21 years, 7 months 3-1 (3) | Sean Santana | 3 | TKO | Win | |
3 | Oct 18, 2008 20 years, 11 months 2-1 (2) | Nicholas Ramantswana | 1 | TKO | Win | |
2 | Sep 13, 2008 20 years, 10 months 1-1 (1) | Elvis Moyo | 1 | TKO | Win | |
1 | Jun 20, 2008 20 years, 7 months 0-1 (0) | Khayeni Hlungwane | 1 | TKO | Loss |
