Thomas Essomba

Last updated
Thomas Essomba
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Nationality
  • British
  • Cameroonian
Born (1987-12-02) 2 December 1987 (age 35) [1]
Cameroon
Boxing record
Total fights21
Wins12
Wins by KO4
Losses8
Draws1
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon
All-Africa Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2011 Maputo Light-flyweight
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2007 Algiers Light-flyweight

Thomas Essomba (born 2 December 1987) is a Cameroonian-British professional boxer who has held the European bantamweight title since May 2023. He previously held the Commonwealth flyweight title from 2015 to 2017. As an amateur, he represented Cameroon at the 2012 Olympics, reaching the round of 16 of the light-flyweight bracket.

Contents

Career

Essomba fought in two Olympic games for the Cameroon boxing team; [2] at the 2012 Olympics in London, he was captain of the team and reached the last 16 of the light-flyweight division, being defeated by Paddy Barnes. [3] He defected in London, was given political asylum and indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom, and became a British citizen soon after. [4] He resettled in Sunderland, where he has trained at the Olympian Gym. [2] In his professional career, he won the Commonwealth flyweight title in October 2015 and the English bantamweight title in March 2018. [5] [6]

Achievements

Professional boxing record

21 fights12 wins8 losses
By knockout41
By decision87
Draws1
No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
21Win12–8–1 Flag of Italy.svg Alessio LorussoUD1220 May 2023 Flag of Italy.svg Monza, Lombardia, ItalyWon European bantamweight title
20Loss11–8–1 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Marcel BraithwaiteSD1211 Nov 2022 Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, England
19Win11–7–1 Flag of Denmark.svg Michael NielsenUD89 April 2022 Flag of Denmark.svg Graakjaer, Holstebro, Denmark
18Loss10–7–1 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Marc LeachUD125 Jun 2021 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Arena Car Park, Sheffield, England
17Draw10–6–1 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Thomas Patrick Ward TD8 (10), 3:0017 Oct 2020 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg East of England Arena, Peterborough, EnglandSplit TD after Ward cut from accidental head clash
16Loss10–6 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Sunny Edwards UD1229 Aug 2020 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg BT Sport Studio, London, EnglandFor IBF International super-flyweight title
15Win10–5 Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Islander KharsanTKO3 (8), 1:2416 Dec 2019 Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Baluan Sholak Sports Palace, Almaty, Kazakhstan
14Win9–5 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Sean McGoldrick UD102 Aug 2019 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Exhibition Centre, Liverpool, EnglandWon vacant WBA Continental bantamweight title
13Loss8–5 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lee McGregor KO12 (12), 1:3813 Oct 2018 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg York Hall, London, EnglandFor vacant Commonwealth bantamweight title
12Loss8–4 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Kyle WilliamsSD109 Jun 2018 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Willows Banqueting Suite, Willenhall, EnglandLost English bantamweight title
11Win8–3 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Louis Norman KO6 (10), 1:062 Mar 2018 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg King Power Stadium, Leicester, EnglandWon vacant English bantamweight title
10Loss7–3 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jay Harris UD1224 Feb 2017 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg York Hall, London, EnglandLost Commonwealth flyweight title
9Loss7–2 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Iain ButcherPTS107 May 2016 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Meadowbank Sports Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland
8Win7–1 Flag of Estonia.svg Sergey TasimovPTS65 Mar 2016 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Rainton Meadows Arena, Houghton-le-Spring, England
7Win6–1 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Waleed DinTKO11 (12), 1:2017 Oct 2015 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Magna Centre, Rotherham, EnglandWon vacant Commonwealth flyweight title
6Win5–1 Flag of Georgia.svg Mikheil SoloninkiniPTS419 Sep 2015 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lancastrian Suite, Dunston, England
5Win4–1 Flag of Hungary.svg Robert KanalasTKO2 (8), 2:255 Jul 2015 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Stadium of Light, Sunderland, England
4Win3–1 Flag of Ghana.svg Isaac QuayePTS88 Mar 2015 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Rainton Meadows Arena, Houghton-le-Spring, England
3Win2–1 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Brett FidoePTS430 Nov 2014 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Rainton Meadows Arena, Houghton-le-Spring, England
2Win1–1 Flag of Kuwait.svg Anwar AlfadliPTS413 Jul 2014 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Stadium of Light, Sunderland, England
1Loss0–1 Flag of France.svg Yoan BoyeauxPTS47 Nov 2009 Flag of France.svg Gymnase, Husson en Forez, France

See also

Related Research Articles

Redouane Bouchtouk is a boxer from Morocco who participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics for his native North African country. At these games he was stopped in the first round of the Light Flyweight (48 kg) division by Colombia's Carlos José Tamara. He then qualified for the Athens Games by winning the silver medal at the 1st AIBA African 2004 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Casablanca, Morocco. In the final of the event he lost to Ugandan fighter Jolly Katongole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akhil Kumar</span> Indian boxer

Akhil Kumar is an Indian boxer who has won several international and national boxing awards. He practices an "open guarded" boxing style. In 2005, the Indian government gave him the Arjuna Award for his achievements in international boxing. In March 2017, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, appointed Akhil Kumar along with Mary Kom as national observers for boxing.

The boxing program of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China was held at the Workers Indoor Arena.

Rau'shee Warren is an American professional boxer who held the WBA (Undisputed), and IBO bantamweight titles from 2016 to 2017. As an amateur he won a gold medal at the 2007 World Championships, as well as bronze at the 2005 and 2011 World Championships, all in the flyweight division.

Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo is a Cuban boxer, best known for winning the junior world title at lightweight in 2006, a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and a gold at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He went on to add to his already impressive Olympic resume by winning another gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo at 33-years-old.

The Light Flyweight class in the 1st AIBA African Olympic Boxing Qualifying Tournament competition was the lightest class. Light flyweights were limited to those boxers weighing less than 48 kilograms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hovhannes Danielyan</span> Armenian boxer

Hovhannes Danielyan is an Armenian light flyweight amateur boxer. He is a European Champion and Olympian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paddy Barnes</span> Irish boxer

Patrick Gerard Barnes is an Irish former boxer who competed as an amateur from 2005 to 2016 and as a professional from 2016 to 2019. As an amateur he competed in the light-flyweight division, representing Ireland at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympics; winning bronze medals in Beijing and London, and represented Northern Ireland at the 2010 and 2014 Commonwealth Games; winning a gold medal at both events. As a professional, he challenged for the WBC flyweight title in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Botswana at the 2008 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Botswana competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics which were held in Beijing, People's Republic of China from August 8 to August 24, 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cameroon at the 2008 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Cameroon competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing, People's Republic of China from August 8 to August 24, 2008.

José Kelvin de la Nieve Linares is a boxer who competed in the light flyweight weight class at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics for Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Series of Boxing</span> Boxing competition

The World Series of Boxing or WSB was an international boxing tournament that allowed amateur boxers to compete professionally while maintaining amateur status and Olympic eligibility. It was organized by AIBA from 2010 to 2018. AIBA confirmed in 2019 that the league had ceased operations amid mounting financial losses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeyvier Cintrón</span> Puerto Rican boxer

Jeyvier Jesús Cintrón Ocasio is a Puerto Rican professional boxer who challenged for the WBO junior bantamweight title in 2019. As an amateur, Cintrón represented Puerto Rico at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics as a flyweight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devendro Singh</span> Indian boxer

Devendro Singh Laishram, also known as Devendro Singh or Devendro Laishram, is an Indian boxer from Imphal West district, Manipur who competes in the light-flyweight division. Devendro represented India at the 2012 Summer Olympics and lost out in the quarter-finals in a tough bout against the eventual bronze medalist Irish boxer Paddy Barnes. Devendro qualified for the Olympics after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Baku. In 2013 Devendro won the silver medal at the Asian Confederation Boxing Championship. In August 2014 he won the silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He competed against Paddy Barnes, who was representing Northern Ireland and settled for a Silver medal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Conlan (boxer)</span> Irish boxer

Michael John Conlan is an Irish professional boxer. He challenged for the IBF featherweight title in 2023 and the WBA (Regular) featherweight title in 2022. As an amateur, he reached number one in the AIBA bantamweight world rankings, with achievements that include a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics and gold at the 2015 World Championships. He has been one of Ireland's most successful amateur fighters of all time. He turned professional in 2016 after misgivings with the amateur sport, and had his first bout in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boxing at the 2016 Summer Olympics</span> Boxing competitions

The boxing tournaments at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place from 6 to 21 August 2016 at the Pavilion 6 of Riocentro. However, boxing at the games was overshadowed with controversy after there were doubts raised that results in certain bouts had been manipulated. These concerns were upheld in a report published in 2021.

Qualification for the boxing events at the 2016 Summer Olympics is based on the APB and WSB World Rankings, APB and WSB World and Olympic Qualifier, the 2015 World Championships, and the 2016 World Olympic Qualifying Tournament. For the women's events, qualification is based only on the 2016 Women's World Championships. For both men and women, each boxer is selected to compete for the Games through the four Continental Olympic Qualifying Tournaments to be held in 2016.

Daniel (Danny) McFarlane is a former boxer turned British AIBA boxing referee, whose most high-profile bout saw Shakur Stevenson, take on Robeisy Ramirez (Cuba) in the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic bantamweight final.

Louis Norman is a British professional boxer who held the English flyweight title from 2013 to 2015. He also challenged for the British flyweight and English super-flyweight titles in 2016 and the English bantamweight title in 2018.

Jay Harris is a Welsh professional boxer. He has held the British flyweight title since May 2023, and previously the Commonwealth and European flyweight titles between 2017 and 2020. He also challenged for the World Boxing Council (WBC) flyweight title in 2020.

References

  1. 1 2 "Athlete Biography ESSOMBA Thomas". Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Archived from the original on 7 September 2008.
  2. 1 2 Douglas, Mark (5 February 2014). "Thomas Essomba: A fighter God sent to Sunderland". The Journal. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Paddy Barnes beats Thomas Essomba in light-flyweight contest". BBC Sport. 4 August 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  4. Hui, Sylvia; Werkmeister, Tristan (6 August 2021). "9 years on, Cameroon Olympic boxer talks of defection to UK". Associated Press.
  5. Rayner, Stuart (16 February 2016). "Sunderland is my 'proper home' now, says Cameroon-born Thomas Essomba". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 16 July 2019. In October Essomba repaid promoter Jeffries [...] by beating Waleed Din in Rotherham to claim the Commonwealth belt.
  6. Kelly, Roy (3 March 2018). "Thomas Essomba stops Louis Norman in Leicester to become English champion". Punch-Lines. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  7. Prince, Daniel (7 March 2015). "Faith drives Essomba in title tilt at Rainton Meadows Arena". Sunderland Echo . Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  8. "Home". AIBA.
  9. Zammit, Alexander (18 June 2011). "African Boxing Confederation's Men's Elite Championships". Boxing News blog. AIBA. Archived from the original on 1 February 2012.