Professional boxing career
Ebo began boxing at the age of two when his father bought him a punching bag. He had a long amateur career with 139 wins before turning professional in 2000, amassing 16 wins before his first loss.
After a series of wins over mid-level opponents including Emmanuel Clottey, Elder took a significant step up in class with a convincing win over undefeated contender Oscar Diaz, winning by a score of 98–92 on all three scorecards. After a tune-up bout, Elder scored a near-shutout victory over 23-7 Fernando Trejo, launching him into a WBO NABO lightweight title match.
Elder won the WBO NABO lightweight title by 6th-round TKO over 17-3 Ricardo Fuentes, then defended it in a thrilling bout with 21-2 Courtney Burton. The scorecards were close after 11 rounds, before Elder dropped Burton twice in the twelfth, winning by TKO with 50 seconds left in the round. Shobox announcer Steve Farhood said of the Elder-Burton bout, "I don't think we've ever had a more physical, grueling, brutal fight."
The win over Burton would be Elder's last. In his last fight before joining the ESPN reality show, "Contender Season 2", he lost to former title holder Lakva Sim, this time as the recipient of a 12th-round TKO.
The Contender
On the ESPN reality show The Contender 2 series debut, Elder was chosen to be on the Gold Team. In the first bout of the tourney, Ebo lost to Michael Stewart by technical knockout 1 minute 52 seconds into the 4th round.
Julio César Chávez González, also known as Julio César Chávez Sr., is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 2005. A multiple-time world champion in three weight divisions, Chávez was listed by The Ring magazine as the world's best boxer, pound for pound, from 1990 to 1993. During his career he held the WBC super featherweight title from 1984 to 1987, the WBA and WBC lightweight titles between 1987 and 1989, the WBC light welterweight title twice between 1989 and 1996, and the IBF light welterweight title from 1990 to 1991. He also held the Ring magazine and lineal lightweight titles from 1988 to 1989, and the lineal light welterweight title twice between 1990 and 1996. Chávez was named Fighter of the Year for 1987 and 1990 by the Boxing Writers Association of America and The Ring respectively.
Jorge Adolfo Páez is a Mexican actor, circus performer and former professional boxer. In boxing he held the WBO and IBF featherweight titles. Paez's nickname of "El Maromero" is in honor of the somersault acts he performs at the circus. It was in the circus that he learned acrobatic moves he would later use in the boxing ring. Páez is also the father of Azriel Páez, Jorge Páez Jr., and Airam Páez.
Joan Guzmán is a Dominican former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2014. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBO super bantamweight title from 2002 to 2005, and the WBO junior lightweight title from 2006 to 2008.
Joel Jalil Julio Mejia is a professional Colombian boxer rated as a junior middleweight. In 2005, he was named ESPN.com's Boxing Prospect of the Year and he has appeared on Ring Magazine's New Faces feature, as well as in ShoBox.
Juan Manuel Márquez Méndez is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2014. He is the third Mexican boxer to become a world champion in four weight classes, having held nine world major titles from featherweight to light welterweight, including the lineal championship at lightweight.
Juan Díaz is an American professional boxer who held the WBA (Unified) and WBA (Undisputed), IBF and WBO lightweight championships from 2007 to 2008 and the IBO lightweight championship from 2008 to 2009.
Nathaniel "Nate" Campbell III is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2014, and currently works as a TV host and gym owner of Galaxxy Boxing Refuge. In boxing he held the unified WBA (Undisputed), IBF and WBO lightweight titles from 2008 to 2009, as well as having challenged for the IBF super featherweight title in 2005 and the WBO junior welterweight title in 2009.
Kendall Holt is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2013, and held the WBO junior welterweight title from 2008 to 2009.
Sadam Ali is an American former professional boxer who held the WBO junior middleweight title from 2017 to 2018. He also challenged once for the WBO welterweight title in 2016.
Timothy Ray Bradley Jr. is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2016. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the WBC light welterweight title twice between 2008 and 2011, the WBO light welterweight title from 2009 to 2012, and the WBO welterweight title twice between 2012 and 2016.
Miguel Cotto vs. Yuri Foreman, billed as Stadium Slugfest, was a boxing super welterweight fight for the WBA Super Welterweight championship. The bout was held on June 5, 2010, at Yankee Stadium, in New York City, United States. Cotto won the fight via technical knockout in the ninth round.
Henry "Hank" Lundy is a professional American boxer. He has challenged once for the WBO junior welterweight title in 2016, having previously held the regional WBO–NABO lightweight title in 2010, and the NABF lightweight title from 2011 to 2012. On December 30, 2016 Lundy defeated John Delperdang for the vacant UBF lightweight world title.
Derric Rossy is an American former professional boxer and a former defensive end at Boston College. He enrolled in the Lynch School of Education with a major in human development.
Jeffrey Christopher Horn Jr. is an Australian former professional boxer who competed from 2013 to 2020. He held the WBO welterweight title from 2017 to 2018. As an amateur, he represented Australia at the 2012 Olympics, reaching the quarterfinals of the light-welterweight bracket.
Courtney Lee Burton is an American former professional boxer from Benton Harbor, Michigan. Throughout his career Burton was known as a switch-hitter being able to fight either orthodox or southpaw, he stood 5' 9" though many boxing records have him listed at 5' 7". He held the WBO NABO lightweight title.
Terence Allan Crawford is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in three weight classes, from lightweight to welterweight, including the undisputed championship at light welterweight and welterweight. As of January 2024, he holds the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Council (WBC), and World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight titles.
Jack Catterall is an English professional boxer. He challenged for the undisputed light-welterweight title in 2022. At regional level, he has held multiple light-welterweight championships, including the British title from 2017 to 2018.
Juan Alejandro Saucedo Ortiz is a Mexican-born American former professional boxer who competed from 2011 to 2020. who challenged for the WBO light welterweight title in 2018. At regional level he held the WBO-NABO and WBO International light welterweight titles between 2017 and 2018.
Jonathan Oquendo Arnaldi is a Puerto Rican professional boxer who has challenged twice for a world title: the WBA (Regular) featherweight title in 2015, and the WBO junior lightweight title in September 2020. He has held multiple regional titles, including the WBO–NABO junior featherweight title in 2010 and the junior lightweight version from 2018 to 2019.
