Henry Akinwande

Henry Adetokunboh Akinwande (born 12 October 1965) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2008. He held the WBO heavyweight title from 1996 to 1997, as well as the Commonwealth heavyweight title in 1993, and the European heavyweight title from 1993 to 1994.

Background

Akinwande was born in London, England but went to live in his parents homeland of Nigeria as a 4-year-old and came back to England as a 21-year-old (1986).

Amateur career

As an amateur boxing out of the Lynn amateur boxing club in Camberwell, SE London, he was ABA heavyweight champion in both 1988 and 1989, beating another fellow Nigerian and future WBO heavyweight champion Herbie Hide and represented Great Britain in the heavyweight division at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.

Amateur highlights

• 1986 ABA 2nd place at Heavyweight (win over Paul Aston Liverpool)
• 1987 ABA 2nd place at Heavyweight (win over Stephen Carford Shefield)
• 1988 ABA Champion at Heavyweight (win over Simon Page Birmingham)
• 1988 represented Great Britain as a Heavyweight at the Seoul Olympic Games. Result was:
  • Lost to Arnold Vanderlyde (Netherlands) points
• 1989 ABA Champion at Heavyweight, outpointing Herbie Hide in final.

Professional career

Akinwande made his professional debut in 1989 against Carlton Headley in London and won all of his first 18 bouts, including a second round KO victory over former World Light Heavyweight Champion J.B. Williamson, and relatively well known fringe fighters such as Marshall Tillman, Eddie Taylor, Kimmuel Odum and John Fury.

Akinwande then challenged Axel Schulz for the vacant European heavyweight title in Berlin, Germany in 1992. The fight, scored only by the referee was adjudged to be a draw after 12 rounds. This was felt by many to be a "home town" decision, as most observers had Akinwande winning comfortably.

Following a victory over New Zealand's respectable James Thunder for the Commonwealth title in 1993, Akinwande again challenged Schulz for the vacant European belt. This time three judges were employed and Akinwande was awarded a unanimous decision after 12 rounds. He was to defend the title twice, against Biagio Chianese and Mario Scheisser. Akinwande also defeated fellow Briton and future WBO cruiserweight champion Johnny Nelson, former IBF heavyweight title holder Tony Tucker, Frankie Swindell, Brian Sargent, Calvin Jones and Gerard Jones, all from the USA, during this period.

In 1996 Akinwande faced American Jeremy Williams for the WBO World Heavyweight Title which had been vacated by Riddick Bowe, a fight which Akinwande was to win via a 3rd round stoppage. Akinwande went on to defend the belt twice, with victories over Russian Alexander Zolkin by TKO and a decision over fellow Briton Scott Welch, who had won the WBO Intercontinental Title with a stoppage over the 46-year-old Joe Bugner.

The WBO belt was then vacated so that Akinwande could pursue a challenge to WBC champion Lennox Lewis in 1997. The fight took place at Caesars Tahoe in Nevada. Akinwande was strangely subdued and spent much of the fight attempting to clinch Lewis. After repeated warnings, referee Mills Lane finally ran out of patience and disqualified Akinwande for repeated holding in the 5th round.^[1]

A proposed challenge to Evander Holyfield for the WBA belt in 1998 was later abandoned after Akinwande tested positive for hepatitis B. This meant a lengthy spell of recovery for Akinwande, but he was finally cleared to return to the ring in 1999.

Akinwande won his next 8 fights, his victims included top contenders Orlin Norris and Maurice Harris, as well as Peter McNeeley, Kenny Craven, Russel Chasteen, Reynaldo Minus, Chris Sirengo and Najee Shaheed.

A fight with Oliver McCall in 2001 resulted in Akinwande's 2nd defeat. After Akinwande had outboxed McCall for most of the fight, Akinwande began to tire, and McCall caught him with a few seconds remaining in the 10th and final round. Akinwande was counted out.

Akinwande recovered from this to win his next 9 bouts, including notable victories against Timo Hoffman, Ed Mahone, Cisse Salif and Anton Nel, all for the IBF Intercontinental Title, as well as Curt Paige, Sam Ubokane, Raman Sukhaterin, Alexander Vasiliev and Tipton Walker.

In late 2006 he dropped a split decision to Oleg Platov, a bout in which Akinwande received a point deduction in 8th round for holding, and Platov received a point deduction in 9th for head butt.

After that fight he won another fight against Andriy Oleinyk in 2007 before losing to top prospect Ondřej Pála from the Czech Republic by unanimous decision on 4 July 2008, which turned out to be his last fight.

Professional boxing record

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
55	Loss	50–4–1	Ondřej Pála	UD	6	4 Jul 2008	Buyuk Anadolu Didim Resort, Ankara, Turkey
54	Win	50–3–1	Andriy Oliynyk	UD	10	30 Jun 2007	Olympic Stadium, Moscow, Russia
53	Loss	49–3–1	Oleg Platov	SD	12	4 Nov 2006	RWE Rhein-Ruhr Sporthalle, Mülheim, Germany	Lost IBF Inter-Continental heavyweight title
52	Win	49–2–1	Cisse Salif	UD	12	4 Mar 2006	Small EWE Arena, Oldenburg, Germany	Retained IBF Inter-Continental heavyweight title
51	Win	48–2–1	Ed Mahone	UD	12	10 Dec 2005	Arena Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany	Won vacant IBF Inter-Continental heavyweight title
50	Win	47–2–1	Tipton Walker	TKO	2 (6), 2:48	24 Sep 2005	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
49	Win	46–2–1	Alexander Vasiliev	UD	8	14 May 2005	Oberfrankenhalle, Bayreuth, Germany
48	Win	45–2–1	Anton Nel	TKO	10 (12), 1:39	10 Apr 2004	U. J. Esuene Stadium, Calabar, Nigeria	Retained IBF Inter-Continental heavyweight title
47	Win	44–2–1	Timo Hoffmann	SD	12	31 May 2003	Brandenburg-Halle, Frankfurt, Germany	Won IBF Inter-Continental heavyweight title
46	Win	43–2–1	Raman Sukhaterin	UD	12	10 Dec 2002	Sala Sporturilor, Constanța, Romania
45	Win	42–2–1	Sam Ubokane	TKO	7 (10)	29 Oct 2002	Wynberg Military Base Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa
44	Win	41–2–1	Curt Paige	TKO	1 (8), 2:53	8 Mar 2002	Civic Center, Kissimmee, Florida, US
43	Loss	40–2–1	Oliver McCall	KO	10 (10), 2:13	17 Nov 2001	Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, US
42	Win	40–1–1	Maurice Harris	KO	1 (10)	16 Jun 2001	Cintas Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, US
41	Win	39–1–1	Peter McNeeley	KO	2 (12), 2:05	17 Mar 2001	The Moon, Tallahassee, Florida, US	Won vacant WBC International heavyweight title
40	Win	38–1–1	Kenny Craven	TKO	1 (12), 3:00	8 Dec 2000	The Moon, Tallahassee, Florida, US	Won vacant WBC FECARBOX heavyweight title
39	Win	37–1–1	Russell Chasteen	TKO	5 (10), 0:49	25 May 2000	Grand Casino, Tunica, Mississippi, US
38	Win	36–1–1	Chris Sirengo	TKO	1 (10)	22 Feb 2000	Velodrome, Bellville, South Africa
37	Win	35–1–1	Najee Shaheed	TKO	9 (10), 2:21	15 May 1999	Jai-Alai Fronton, Miami, Florida, US
36	Win	34–1–1	Reynaldo Minus	TKO	2 (10), 1:35	6 Mar 1999	UM Sports Pavilion, Minneapolis, Minnesota, US
35	Win	33–1–1	Orlin Norris	UD	12	13 Dec 1997	Amphitheater, Pompano Beach, Florida, US
34	Loss	32–1–1	Lennox Lewis	DQ	5 (12), 2:34	12 Jul 1997	Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada, US	For WBC heavyweight title; Akinwande disqualified for repeated holding
33	Win	32–0–1	Scott Welch	UD	12	11 Jan 1997	Nashville Arena, Nashville, Tennessee, US	Retained WBO heavyweight title
32	Win	31–0–1	Alexander Zolkin	TKO	10 (12), 2:32	9 Nov 1996	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, US	Retained WBO heavyweight title
31	Win	30–0–1	Jeremy Williams	KO	3 (12), 0:43	29 Jun 1996	Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, US	Won vacant WBO heavyweight title
30	Win	29–0–1	Gerard Jones	DQ	7 (10), 2:18	23 Mar 1996	Miami Arena, Miami, Florida, US	Jones disqualified for repeatedly hitting after the break
29	Win	28–0–1	Brian Sargent	TKO	4 (10), 2:40	27 Jan 1996	Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona, US
28	Win	27–0–1	Tony Tucker	UD	10	16 Dec 1995	CoreStates Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
27	Win	26–0–1	Stanley Wright	TKO	2 (10)	22 Jul 1995	London Arena, London, England
26	Win	25–0–1	Calvin Jones	KO	2 (8), 1:38	8 Apr 1995	Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, US
25	Win	24–0–1	Mario Schiesser	KO	7 (12)	23 Jul 1994	Sportforum Hohenschönhausen, Berlin, Germany	Retained European heavyweight title
24	Win	23–0–1	Johnny Nelson	PTS	10	5 Apr 1994	York Hall, London, England
23	Win	22–0–1	Biagio Chianese	TKO	4 (12)	1 Dec 1993	Royal Albert Hall, London, England	Retained European heavyweight title
22	Win	21–0–1	Frankie Swindell	UD	10	6 Nov 1993	Superbowl, Sun City, South Africa
21	Win	20–0–1	Axel Schulz	UD	12	1 May 1993	Sporthalle Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany	Won vacant European heavyweight title
20	Win	19–0–1	Jimmy Thunder	PTS	12	18 Mar 1993	Lewisham Theatre, London, England	Won vacant Commonwealth heavyweight title
19	Draw	18–0–1	Axel Schulz	MD	12	19 Dec 1992	Berlin, Germany	For vacant European heavyweight title
18	Win	18–0	Steve Garber	TKO	2 (8)	18 Jul 1992	Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England
17	Win	17–0	Kimmuel Odum	DQ	6 (8)	5 Jun 1992	Palais des sports, Marseille, France
16	Win	16–0	Lumbala Tshibamba	PTS	8	10 Apr 1992	Carquefou, France
15	Win	15–0	Tucker Richards	TKO	2 (8), 0:56	26 Mar 1992	Ice Rink, Telford, England
14	Win	14–0	Eddie Taylor	TKO	3 (8)	28 Feb 1992	Issy-les-Moulineaux, France
13	Win	13–0	Tim Bullock	TKO	3 (8)	6 Dec 1991	Düsseldorf, Germany
12	Win	12–0	John Fury	KO	3 (8)	9 Oct 1991	G-Mex Centre, Manchester, England
11	Win	11–0	Marshall Tillman	PTS	8	28 Jun 1991	Salle Leyrit, Nice, France
10	Win	10–0	Ramon Voorn	PTS	8	6 Jun 1991	The Broadway Theatre, London, England
9	Win	9–0	J. B. Williamson	TKO	2 (8), 0:19	6 Mar 1991	Wembley Arena, London, England
8	Win	8–0	François Yrius	TKO	1 (6), 1:02	12 Dec 1990	Royal Albert Hall, London, England
7	Win	7–0	Tracy Thomas	PTS	6	10 Oct 1990	Royal Albert Hall, London, England
6	Win	6–0	Mike Robinson	KO	1 (6)	9 May 1990	Wembley Grand Hall, London, England
5	Win	5–0	Warren Thompson	PTS	6	14 Mar 1990	Royal Albert Hall, London, England
4	Win	4–0	John Fairbairn	TKO	1 (6)	10 Jan 1990	Royal Albert Hall, London, England
3	Win	3–0	Paul Neilson	TKO	1 (6), 1:28	6 Dec 1989	Wembley Arena, London, England
2	Win	2–0	Dennis Bailey	TKO	2 (6), 2:15	8 Nov 1989	Wembley Grand Hall, London, England
1	Win	1–0	Carlton Headley	KO	1 (6), 1:10	4 Oct 1989	Royal Albert Hall, London, England	Professional debut

Titles in boxing

External links

• Professional boxing record for Henry Akinwande from BoxRec

References