Ngozika Ekwelum

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Ngozika Ekwelum
Born (1948-03-15) 15 March 1948 (age 77)
Nationality Nigerian
Statistics
Weight(s) Heavyweight
Boxing record [1]
Total fights31
Wins17
Wins by KO14
Losses9
Draws5

Ngozika Ekwelum (born 15 March 1948) is a Nigerian former heavyweight boxer, who held the Nigerian and African Boxing Union heavyweight titles in the 1970s and 1980s.

Contents

Career

From Anambra State, as an amateur, Ekwelum competed in the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, losing in the quarter-final to Irishman John McKinty. [2] [3]

Ekwelum spent much of his professional career based in Germany. He made his professional debut in September 1973, knocking out Ireno Werleman in the second round. Two months later, in his third fight, he drew with former Italian champion Armando Zanini in Brescia. In his next fight, in February 1974, he suffered his first professional defeat, to the vastly experienced Argentine Avenamar Peralta. He followed this the next month with a drawn fight with another Argentine, Santiago Lovell. A seventh-round knockout of Richard Dunn followed in April 1974. [4] In January 1975 he knocked Eddie Neilson down four times before winning by a send-round stoppage, and a month later lost a narrow points decision to Billy Aird, both of these fights taking place in England. [5] [6] [7] Back in Germany, between March 1975 and May 1976, he won five fights and drew one. In November 1976 he travelled to Madrid to face Argentine champion Raul Gorosito, the 8-round fight judged a draw. In December 1976 he beat future world title challenger Lucien Rodriguez on points, [8] then had a run of three defeats; First, in January 1977 he was stopped in the seventh round in Johannesburg by Kallie Knoetze, [9] [10] which saw him receive a lifetime ban from the Nigerian Boxing Board of Control for fighting in South Africa. [11] In May he was stopped in the sixth round by John L. Gardner at the Royal Albert Hall, in what would have been a fight for the vacant Commonwealth title, but the Nigerian authorities refused to sanction it due to Ekwelum's fight in South Africa. [12] He was then out of the ring until September 1978, when he was disqualified in the third round against Hennie Thoonen in Heerenveen for punching with the inside of the glove. He returned to winning ways in November 1978 with a fifth-round stoppage of German (BDB) champion Bernd August, and then in 1979 became based back in is home country, the ban evidently lifted. He had immediate success, knocking Eddie Cooper out in March to win the Nigerian heavyweight title. In October that year he knocked out Joe Kalala in the third round to take the African Boxing Union (ABU) title. In December 1979 he travelled to Canada to face Trevor Berbick, losing via a fifth-round stoppage. In March 1980 he stopped Paul Sykes in the first round, in what would prove to be his final win. He lost his ABU title in December 1983 to Proud Kilimanjaro, the Zimbabwean knocking him out in the twelfth and final round. In November 1984 he lost to Malian Mary Konate, and in his final fight in August 1986, at the age of 38, he was beaten on points by Charles Udalor in a Nigerian heavyweight title clash. [13]

In 2015, he was reportedly planning to open a boxing academy in Awka, Anambra State. [14]

Professional boxing record

32 fights17 wins10 losses
By knockout145
By decision34
By disqualification01
Draws5
No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
32Loss17–10–5Charles UdalorPTS121 Aug 1986Lagos, Lagos State, NigeriaFor vacant Nigerian heavyweight title
31Loss17–9–5Mary KonateTKO7 (10)14 Nov 1986 Abidjan, Ivory Coast
30Loss17–8–5 Proud Kilimanjaro KO12 (12)2 Dec 1983Lagos, Lagos State, NigeriaFor African heavyweight title
29Loss17–7–5Adama MensahPTS121 Jan 1983GhanaFor inaugural West African heavyweight title
28Win17–6–5 Paul Sykes KO1 (10)29 Mar 1980National Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria
27Loss16–6–5 Trevor Berbick TKO5 (10), 0:0111 Dec 1979 Halifax Metro Centre, Halifax, Canada
26Win16–5–5Joe KalalaKO3 (15)5 Oct 1979National Stadium, Lagos, NigeriaWon inaugural African heavyweight title
25Win15–5–5Tony MooreTKO6 (10)7 Jul 1979Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria
24Win14–5–5Eddie CooperKO3 (15)8 Mar 1979 National Stadium, Lagos, NigeriaWon inaugural Nigerian heavyweight title
23Win13–5–5Bernd AugustKO5 (10)6 Nov 1978Berlin, West Germany
22Loss12–5–5Hennie ThoonenDQ3 (10)16 Sep 1978IJsstadion Thialf, Heerenveen, NetherlandsEkwelum was disqualified for punching with the inner part of his glove
21Loss12–4–5 John L. Gardner TKO6 (10), 0:3231 May 1977 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
20Loss12–3–5 Kallie Knoetze TKO7 (10)28 Jan 1977Wembley Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa
19Win12–2–5Lucien RodriguezPTS812 Dec 1976Berlin, West Germany
18Draw11–2–5Raúl GorisitoPTS819 Nov 1976 Madrid, Community of Madrid, Spain
17Win11–2–4Tony MoorePTS8 24 May 1976 Olympiahalle, Munich, West Germany
16Win10–2–4Terry JudgeKO3 (8)27 Dec 1975Berlin, West Germany
15Win9–2–4Conny VelenšekTKO7 (8)10 Oct 1975Berlin, West Germany
14Win8–2–4 Sugar Ray Anderson KO5 (8)24 Jun 1975Deutschlandhalle, Berlin, West Germany
13Draw7–2–4 Sugar Ray Anderson PTS816 May 1975 Ludwigshafen, Rhineland-Palatinate, West Germany
12Win7–2–3Fernando DescampsKO2 (8)18 Mar 1975Berlin, West Germany
11Loss6–2–3Billy AirdPTS84 Feb 197520th Century FC Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on-Sea, England
10Win6–1–3Eddie NeilsonTKO2 (8), 2:306 Jan 1975 National Sporting Club, London, England
9Draw5–1–3Conny VelenšekPTS83 Sep 1974Deutschlandhalle, Berlin, West Germany
8Win5–1–2José Antonio GálvezTKO8 (8)12 Jul 1974Plaza de Toros de Palma, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
7Win4–1–2Kilani RamdaniTKO2 (6)16 May 1974 Ernst-Merck-Halle, Hamburg, West Germany
6Win3–1–2 Richard Dunn KO7 (10)11 Apr 1974Berlin, West Germany
5Draw2–1–2 Santiago Lovell Jr. PTS814 Mar 1974 Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
4Loss2–1–1 Avenamar Peralta PTS1020 Feb 1974 Deutschlandhalle, Berlin, West Germany
3Draw2–0–1Armando ZaniniPTS824 Nov 1973 Brescia, Lombardy, Italy
2Win2–0José Antonio GálvezPTS626 Oct 1973 Hamburg, Hamburg State, West Germany
1Win1–0Ireno WerlemanKO2 (8)28 Sep 1973 Berlin, West Germany

References

  1. ↑ "Boxing record for Ngozika Ekwelum". BoxRec .
  2. ↑ "'Gift' Medal for Boxer" . Coventry Evening Telegraph. 17 July 1970. Retrieved 14 September 2019– via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ↑ "Plumber Has 'Mate' He Did Not Want" . Belfast telegraph. 17 July 1970. Retrieved 14 September 2019– via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ↑ Ryan, Joe (2012) Heavyweight Boxing in the 1970s: The Great Fighters and Rivalries, McFarland & Co., ISBN   9780786470747, p. 210
  5. ↑ "Neilson's Hopes are Shattered" . Belfast telegraph. 7 January 1975. Retrieved 14 September 2019– via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ↑ "Vital Date for Aird" . Liverpool Echo. 4 February 1975. Retrieved 14 September 2019– via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ↑ "Now for Bunny Says 'New' Aird" . Daily Mirror. 5 February 1975. Retrieved 14 September 2019– via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ↑ Holmes, Larry (1999) Larry Holmes: Against the Odds, St. Martin's Press, ISBN   978-0312187361, p. 220
  9. ↑ "Kallie Wins in Seven", South African Digest, Department of Information, 1977, p. 21
  10. ↑ "South Africa: South African Kallie Knoetze Beats Nigerian Champion Ngozika Ekwelum - Fight Stopped In Seventh Round.", British Pathé, 1977. Retrieved 14 September 2019
  11. ↑ Africa, Africa Journal Limited, Issues 65-76, p. 146
  12. ↑ "Title Fight KO" . Aberdeen Evening Express. 31 May 1977. Retrieved 14 September 2019– via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. ↑ Thisweek, Nigeria, 1986, p. 43
  14. ↑ "Ex-African Boxing Champion, Ekwelum Plans Sports Academy", Elombah News, 20 October 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2019
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