Henry Akinwande
Great Britain- Biography of Henry Akinwande
- Amateur Career
- Professional Career
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On December 19, 1992, Akinwande had his first title fight against Axel Schulz from Germany. The twelve-round match for the European Boxing Union (EBU) heavyweight championship ended in a draw, leaving the title vacant. Akinwande's next fight took place on March 18, 1993, against Jimmy Thunder from Samoa for the British professional championship. Akinwande won the fight by unanimous decision.
Biography of Henry Akinwande
Henry Akinwande is a British professional boxer of Nigerian descent. He was born on October 12, 1965, in London, England. Akinwande is best known for his career as a professional heavyweight boxer and his success in the sport.
Amateur Career
In 1986, Akinwande achieved second place in the English Amateur Boxing Championship in the heavyweight division. He repeated this feat in 1987. However, in 1988, Akinwande became the champion of England in the heavyweight division among amateurs. Later that year, he represented Great Britain at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, but was defeated in the initial stage by Arnold Vanderlyde from the Netherlands. Akinwande regained his title as the champion of England among amateurs in 1989.
Professional Career
Akinwande made his professional debut on October 4, 1989, in a fight against British boxer Carlton Hidly, who had lost all three of his previous matches. Akinwande secured a decisive victory with a knockout in the first round. He went on to win his next 16 fights.
On December 19, 1992, Akinwande had his first title fight against Axel Schulz from Germany. The twelve-round match for the European Boxing Union (EBU) heavyweight championship ended in a draw, leaving the title vacant. Akinwande's next fight took place on March 18, 1993, against Jimmy Thunder from Samoa for the British professional championship. Akinwande won the fight by unanimous decision.
On May 1, 1993, Akinwande faced Axel Schulz again for the European heavyweight championship. He won the rematch by a unanimous decision. Akinwande's most significant fight came on June 29, 1996, when he fought Jeremy Williams for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) heavyweight championship. Despite Williams' impressive record, Akinwande secured a confident victory with a knockout in the third round. He successfully defended his title in his next two fights.
On July 12, 1997, Akinwande had the opportunity to unify the WBO and WBC heavyweight titles in a fight against Lennox Lewis. However, in the fifth round, he was disqualified, ending his reign as a world champion.
After this, Akinwande made multiple attempts to return to the elite level of boxing, participating in 21 more fights, of which he lost three. Despite his efforts, he was unable to regain the world champion title. Akinwande's final fight took place in 2008, where he was defeated by a young Czech athlete, Ondrej Pala.
