- Born
- 1929
- Died
- 1971
- Nationality
- Nigeria
- Career
- 1952–1970
Nigeria's greatest fighter, a powerful two-division champion.
Titles & Honours
- World Middleweight Champion (2 times)
- World Light Heavyweight Champion (1966–1968)
Career Timeline
1952–1970- Milestone
First recorded professional bout
vs Simon Eme · W KO
- Milestone
25th recorded win
vs Jean Claude Poisson · PTS. Newspaper decisions excluded.
- Signature fight
vs Gene Fullmer
W UD · Candlestick Park , San Francisco , California , U.S.. Archive selection: one of the first three wins over distinct fighters profiled here, not an expert-selected signature fight.
- Milestone
50th recorded win
vs Juan Carlos Rivero · TKO. Newspaper decisions excluded.
- Title history
Title reign begins
World Light Heavyweight Champion (1966–1968). Year from profile title history; exact title-winning bout not identified.
- Signature fight
vs José Torres
W UD · Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.. Archive selection: one of the first three wins over distinct fighters profiled here, not an expert-selected signature fight.
- Signature fight
vs Nino Benvenuti
W UD · Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.. Archive selection: one of the first three wins over distinct fighters profiled here, not an expert-selected signature fight.
- Milestone
Latest recorded bout
vs Emile Griffith · L UD. Not necessarily the retirement date.
Title wins · dates not yet documented
Derived from the current archive and profile honours. Title-reign years are not exact bout dates; title claims are not independently verified. Signature fights use existing profile selections, or clearly labelled wins over other archived fighters when no selections exist. Year-only dates retain their original precision.
Photo Archive
1 archival photographs under their original licences.
Fight-by-Fight Record
| Date | Result | Opponent | Method | Round | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952-01-01 | W | Simon Eme | KO | 2 | Aba , Nigeria |
| 1952-09-01 | W | Koko Kid | PTS | 8 | Port Harcourt , Nigeria |
| 1952-10-01 | W | Easy Dynamite | KO | 1 | Port Harcourt, Nigeria |
| 1952-12-13 | L | Tommy West | PTS | 10 | Rex Cinema Hall, Lagos , Nigeria |
| 1953-01-01 | W | Lion Ring | TKO | 6 | Lagos |
| 1953-01-30 | W | Blackie Power | PTS | 6 | Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos, Nigeria |
| 1953-02-01 | W | Simon Eme | PTS | 8 | Lagos, Nigeria |
| 1953-05-20 | L | Tommy West | RTD | 7 | African Tennis Club, Lagos, Nigeria |
| 1954-01-29 | L | Tommy West | PTS | 6 | Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos, Nigeria |
| 1954-02-01 | W | Robert Nwanne | KO | 2 | Lagos, Nigeria |
| 1954-06-12 | W | Mighty Joe | PTS | 6 | Rex Cinema Hall, Aba, Nigeria |
| 1954-07-18 | W | Super Human Power | PTS | 8 | Rex Cinema Hall, Aba, Nigeria |
| 1954-11-01 | W | Peter Okptra | KO | 8 | Lagos, Nigeria |
| 1955-01-01 | W | Koko Kid | KO | 6 | Amaigbo , Nigeria |
| 1955-01-31 | W | Raheem Fagbemi | PTS | 8 | Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos, Nigeria |
| 1955-05-01 | W | John Ama | KO | 2 | Lagos, Nigeria |
| 1955-08-31 | W | Bolaji Johnson | PTS | 8 | Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos, Nigeria |
| 1955-12-08 | L | Alan Dean | PTS | 6 | The Stadium, Liverpool , England |
| 1956-01-27 | L | Gerry McNally | PTS | 8 | Tower Circus, Blackpool , England |
| 1956-03-01 | L | Jimmy Lynas | PTS | 8 | Tower Circus, Blackpool, England |
| 1956-03-22 | L | George Roe | PTS | 8 | The Stadium, Liverpool, England |
| 1956-05-03 | W | Dennis Rowley | KO | 1 | The Stadium, Liverpool, England |
| 1956-05-10 | W | Alan Dean | PTS | 8 | The Stadium, Liverpool, England |
| 1956-05-28 | W | Wally Scott | TKO | 4 | Engineer's Club, Hartlepool , England |
| 1956-07-02 | W | Jimmy Lynas | PTS | 8 | Tower Circus, Blackpool, England |
| 1956-10-18 | L | Alan Dean | PTS | 6 | The Stadium, Liverpool, England |
| 1956-11-09 | W | Alan Dean | PTS | 8 | Tower Circus, Blackpool, England |
| 1957-04-29 | W | Johnny Read | TKO | 2 | National Sporting Club, London , England |
| 1957-05-14 | W | Terry Downes | TKO | 5 | Town Hall, London, England |
| 1957-06-04 | W | Marius Dori | TKO | 7 | Harringay Arena , London, England |
| 1957-06-25 | W | Alan Dean | PTS | 8 | The Stadium, Liverpool, England |
| 1957-07-15 | L | Willie Armstrong | PTS | 8 | Engineer's Club, Hartlepool, England |
| 1957-09-09 | W | Phil Edwards | PTS | 10 | Sophia Gardens Pavilion , Cardiff , Wales |
| 1957-10-21 | W | Jean Claude Poisson | PTS | 10 | Sophia Gardens Pavilion, Cardiff, Wales |
| 1957-11-11 | D | Pat McAteer | PTS | 10 | Sophia Gardens Pavilion, Cardiff, Wales |
| 1957-11-28 | W | Paddy Delargy | KO | 6 | Embassy Sportsdrome, Birmingham , England |
| 1958-01-13 | W | Jean Ruellet | PTA | 8 | City Hall , Hull , England |
| 1958-02-03 | W | Jimmy Lynas | KO | 7 | King's Hall , Manchester , England |
| 1958-02-25 | W | Johnny Read | KO | 6 | Harringay Arena, London, England |
| 1958-03-27 | W | Pat McAteer | KO | 9 | The Stadium, Liverpool, England |
| 1958-05-01 | W | Billy Ellaway | KO | 2 | The Stadium, Liverpool, England |
| 1958-06-24 | L | Ellsworth Webb | PTS | 10 | Earls Court Empress Hall , London, England |
| 1958-10-14 | W | Yolande Pompey | PTS | 10 | Empire Pool , London, England |
| 1959-03-19 | L | Randy Sandy | PTS | 10 | The Stadium, Liverpool, England |
| 1959-05-12 | W | Randy Sandy | PTS | 10 | Empire Pool, Wembley, England |
| 1959-06-05 | D | Rory Calhoun | PTS | 10 | Madison Square Garden , New York City , New York , U.S. |
| 1959-07-17 | L | Rory Calhoun | SD | 10 | War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse, New York , U.S. |
| 1959-09-02 | W | Gene Armstrong | PTS | 10 | Convention Hall, Camden, New Jersey , U.S. |
| 1959-09-30 | W | Joey Giardello | UD | 10 | Chicago Stadium , Chicago , Illinois , U.S. |
| 1959-11-04 | L | Joey Giardello | UD | 10 | Arena, Cleveland , Ohio , U.S. |
| 1959-12-30 | W | Holly Mims | MD | 10 | Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1960-02-24 | W | Gene Armstrong | UD | 10 | Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 1960-04-01 | W | Víctor Zalazar | MD | 10 | Arena, Boston , Massachusetts , U.S. |
| 1960-06-22 | L | Wilf Greaves | SD | 15 | Edmonton Gardens , Edmonton , Canada |
| 1960-11-30 | W | Wilf Greaves | TKO | 9 | Edmonton Gardens, Edmonton, Canada |
| 1961-02-18 | W | Gene Armstrong | TKO | 9 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| 1961-04-15 | W | Ellsworth Webb | KO | 6 | St. Nicholas Arena , New York City, New York, U.S. |
| 1961-05-15 | W | Hank Casey | SD | 10 | Municipal Auditorium , New Orleans , Louisiana , U.S. |
| 1961-12-16 | W | William Pickett | UD | 10 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| 1962-01-20 | W | Florentino Fernández | TKO | 6 | Convention Center , Miami Beach, Florida , U.S. |
| 1962-03-31 | W | Henry Hank | UD | 10 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| 1962-10-23 | W | Gene Fullmer | UD | 15 | Candlestick Park , San Francisco , California , U.S. |
| 1963-02-23 | D | Gene Fullmer | SD | 15 | Las Vegas Convention Center , Winchester, Nevada , U.S. |
| 1963-08-10 | W | Gene Fullmer | RTD | 7 | Liberty Stadium , Ibadan , Nigeria |
| 1963-12-07 | L | Joey Giardello | PTS | 15 | Convention Hall , Atlantic City, New Jersey , U.S. |
| 1964-07-31 | W | Jose Monon Gonzalez | TKO | 6 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| 1964-09-11 | W | Don Fullmer | UD | 10 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| 1964-10-16 | L | Joey Archer | SD | 10 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| 1965-03-12 | W | Juan Carlos Rivero | TKO | 6 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| 1965-05-20 | W | Rubin Carter | UD | 10 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| 1965-10-21 | W | Joey Giardello | UD | 15 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| 1966-02-18 | W | Peter Mueller | KO | 3 | Westfalenhalle , Dortmund , Germany |
| 1966-04-25 | L | Emile Griffith | UD | 15 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| 1966-12-16 | W | José Torres | UD | 15 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| 1967-02-05 | W | Abraham Tomica | TKO | 5 | Mile One Park, Port Harcourt, Nigeria |
| 1967-05-16 | W | José Torres | SD | 15 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| 1967-11-17 | W | Roger Rouse | TKO | 12 | Las Vegas Convention Center, Winchester, Nevada, U.S. |
| 1968-05-24 | L | Bob Foster | KO | 4 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| 1968-10-25 | W | Frank DePaula | UD | 10 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| 1969-05-26 | W | Nino Benvenuti | UD | 10 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| 1969-11-14 | W | Andy Kendall | UD | 10 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| 1970-07-15 | L | Emile Griffith | UD | 10 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. |
Showing 82 of 82 recorded fights · last updated 2026-10-11. Imported record tables are not independently verified and may be incomplete. Early-era logs include newspaper decisions (NWS), which are not counted in the official totals above.
Record notes
Fight record last retrieved: 2026-10-11. Title histories remain subject to archival review.
Historical-era totals differ between record-keeping conventions (newspaper decisions, exhibitions).
Compare with another fighter