Boxing
FORMER NIGERIAN COMMONWEALTH BOXING GOLD MEDALLIST, DAVID DEFIAGBON IS DEAD
David Defiagbon, a boxer who won gold for Nigeria at the Auckland 1990 Olympics and also featured for the country at the Barcelona 1992 Olympics has died. According to Chronicle Herald of Canada, Defiagbon died of heart complications in Las Vegas, United States on Saturday.
He was aged 48. Defiagbon after Barcelona 1992 Olympics where he lost in the first round of Light Middleweight category to America’s Raul Marquez, emigrated to Canada and won a silver medal in heavyweight category of boxing for Canada at the Atlanta ’96 Olympics.
According to the newspaper, the boxing community in Canada was still mourning the boxer’s death.
“It’s a shock,” said Lower Sackville’s Wayne Gordon, who along with his late father Taylor, were instrumental in bringing Defiagbon to Canada. They coached him as an amateur.
Shortly after Auckland 1990 Commonwealth Games, Defiagbon reportedly met Taylor Gordon, then the former national team coach of Canada, and the wheels were in motion to get him to emigrate to Canada. But it wasn’t a smooth transition.
“My dad first met David in 1989 when he took the national team for a tour of Africa,” Wayne Gordon recalled in an interview by Chronicle Herald of Canada. “David was very charismatic.
“Dad ran into David again in Barcelona in 1992. David told a compelling story about the adversities he went through with the Nigerian boxing team. He pleaded with us to help him come to Canada. It was heart-wrenching.
Another Canadian newspaper, Toronto Sun gave the account thus: “Whenever Gordon and Defiagbon ran into each other over the next few years at various tournaments, Defiagbon would plead with Coach Gordon to take him to Canada.
Finally, at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, the Nigerian boxer saw Taylor Gordon at the athlete’s village, dropped to his knees and begged him to take him to Canada.
“There must have been 200 people there and all of a sudden I have this 6-foot-5 guy grabbing me around the legs and begging for my help,” Gordon told the Toronto Sun’s Jim O’Leary in 1996. “He had tears running down his face.”
The former Canadian navy man came through, arranging Defiagbon’s passage to Canada, where he moved in with Wayne Gordon and his family in Halifax. Defiagbon received his Canadian citizenship in time to compete for the Great White North at the 1996 Olympics”.
Wayne Gordon in his account to Chronicle Herald continues: “We sent money over to him to buy an airline ticket and more or less escape from where he was,” Gordon added. “He got caught and (was) thrown in jail.
“We got word back so we ended up sending more money to bribe the guards to let him out of jail, get to the airport and escape Nigeria. And he did. He ended up living at my house for almost a year. David became a part of our family.”
For three years, the Gordons worked to get Defiagbon his Canadian citizenship so he could fight for his new home.
Defiagbon trained at the Gordons’ Citadel club and became a household name with his silver-medal showing at the ’96 Olympics. After losing to Cuba’s Felix Savon in the gold medal match, Defiagbon turned pro and moved west to join Sawridge Enterprises of Slave Lake, Alta. He eventually settled in Las Vegas.
Nicknamed ‘The Dream,’ Defiagbon won his first 21 pro bouts. In his 21st victory, the then-six–foot–five, 226–pound Defiagbon defeated Ron Guerrero on a fifth–round knockout on June 12, 2004 in Bermuda. He claimed the WBA Fedecentro title with the win and moved into the WBA’s top–10. That would be the pinnacle of his pro career.
He lost his next two bouts, including a TKO loss to Juan Carlos Gomez on Jan. 15, 2005. At the age of 33, it would be Defiagbon’s last professional fight.
“I was looking at pictures today of him having Christmas suppers with us, pictures with my kids,” Gordon said. “It’s really too bad.
Canadian newspaper, Toronto Sun recalled a controversial bout that Defiagbon had at the Atlanta ’96 Olympics. He had qualified for the medal round under controversial circumstances as Frenchman Christophe Mendy as disqualified for hitting Defiagbon ‘below the belt’.
Defiagbon advanced to the medal round. But TV replays showed that Mendy’s blow appeared to land on Defiagbon’s upper thigh. Defiagbon rolled around the ring in apparent agony until the referee stopped the fight and a furious Mendy was disqualified
David Defiagbon, in his silver medal winning encounter at Atlanta ’96 Olympics
To his credit, the Nigerian-born Defiagbon fought valiantly in the semi-final to defeat American Nate Jones to qualify for the gold medal match, where he lost to Cuban legend Felix Savon. Defiagbon went on to enjoy a solid pro career (21-2 12KOs) and remains the last Canadian to win an Olympic boxing medal.
It was former world light heavyweight champion Montell Griffin, who trained with Defiagbon, announced the fighter’s passing on his Facebook account. Mandy Evans, who has a daughter with Defiagbon, confirmed the boxer died last Saturday, adding that a service will be held on December 8 in Las Vegas.
Defiagbon’s former coach Wayne Gordon, who had kept in touch with his fighter over the years, was supposed to meet up with Defiagbon in Las Vegas in May of 2017, the week of the Canelo Alverez-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight, but after arriving in Nevada, couldn’t reach the fighter.
“He had told me before that his life was not the best,” Gordon said. “He got involved in drugs and alcohol and the night life where he was working as security guard. But the last time I talked to him, everything was sort of good. He said, ‘I got my life straightened out, I’m not drinking anymore, the party scene is behind me.’ I couldn’t wait to see him.”
Briton Tyson Fury said he will throw caution to the wind when he faces heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and aim for a knockout victory in their rematch.
In their first bout in May, Fury hit his stride in the fourth round and engaged in some showmanship as he caught Usyk with vicious body shots, but the Ukrainian battled back and turned the tide in the eighth round.
Usyk’s powerful punches to the head left Fury reeling and the previously undefeated boxer struggled through the final rounds of the fight before losing by split decision and relinquishing his WBC heavyweight championship.
The rematch will take place on Dec. 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the WBC, WBO and WBA titles on the line.
“I’m going to go in there with destroy mode. Last time I went to box him, I was being cautious. I boxed the head right off him,” Fury told TNT Sports on Saturday.
“Let’s talk facts. Anyone can get caught, as we’ve seen in a lot of these heavyweight fights, but this time I’m not going for a points decision.”
Fury added that he is still keen on facing fellow Briton Anthony Joshua, despite the former champion’s knockout defeat at the hands of Daniel Dubois in an IBF title fight last month.
Joshua and Fury had been set to face off in a proposed ‘Battle of Britain’ bout in 2022, but the fight fell through.
“At the end of the day, it would be a travesty if we didn’t fight,” Fury said.
“No matter if he loses 20 more fights. If he doesn’t win another fight and has 10 years away from the game, it doesn’t matter, we have to fight.”
-Reuters
After Saturday’s night defeat to Daniel Dubois, Anthony Joshua’s boxing career looked heading to an end as the former two-time world champion was knocked out in the fifth round of their heavyweight bout at Wembley Stadium.
But a determined Joshua has said that he would not quit easily. He has played down any talk of retirement following his defeat.
His defeat ended any immediate hope of becoming a three-time world champion. A British-record crowd of over 96,000 people saw Dubois retain his IBF World Heavyweight title with a victory that shocked the boxing world
The 27-year-old put in a dominant performance, flooring Anthony Joshua in the first round with a strong overhand right that he never truly recovered from.
Despite coming forward in the fifth round with a big straight right-hand, Dubois countered with devastating knockout blow.
“Always walk with your head high, we rolled the dice, for the third time, 13 world title fights, not every one has been successful, but they’ve all been fun and entertaining,” Joshua was quoted by Independent as saying.
He was talking about his future. “You’re probably asking if I still want to consider fighting? Of course I want to continue fighting.
“We took a shot at success and we came up short. What does that mean now? That we’re going to run away? We’re going to live to fight another day. And that’s what I am – I’m a warrior.
“There were a few mistakes in there but that’s the name of the game. Fine margins will cost you at the top level.
“Also before I finish, we have to give credit our opponent Daniel. When I sign up to fight opponents, I don’t really like them in my head any more. But now that it’s done, I take my hat off to him and say well done.”
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn, according to Manchester Evening News, admitted this was the first time he’d seen the former two-time world champion hurt during their 11-years working together.
“It’s probably the only time in his whole career I’ve seen him really hurt, it’s not bad, having won two world championships and 13 world title fights, to the point he couldn’t get up,” Hearn added.
“It’s the first time in his career that he’s been properly hurt, you never want to carry on too long, but AJ doesn’t have many miles on the clock. When Ben comes to me and says, ‘he doesn’t look the same fighter any more’, and AJ will make that decision.
“We’ve seen the best AJ over the last year, it’s difficult to say that’s it. These are the closing chapters of his career. We have another fight with RS, Dubois is part of that plan. So too is Tyson Fury or another heavyweight. 2025 is going to be an interesting year for Joshua, against whoever, you’ll be entertained.
“Our interests are that he leaves this sport with legacy, money and his health in tact, knocked out like that you have to look at that. That was just a shot, trading with a huge right hand, it doesn’t matter who you are, you’re getting knocked out.”
Britain’s Daniel Dubois destroyed Anthony Joshua’s dream of becoming a three times heavyweight world champion with a fifth-round knockout to retain his IBF belt at a packed Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
Dubois dropped his compatriot to the canvas in the opening round with a stinging right, the referee delivering a standing eight count, and the 27-year-old proceeded to tear up the pre-fight predictions as swiftly as he ripped into his opponent.
Joshua, 34, took another hammering in round two but managed to ride out the storm before round three came crashing down around him again.
With Dubois landing more fizzing right-handers, Joshua was literally on the ropes before being saved by the bell.
He could barely stand at the end of the fourth, after going down again with two minutes remaining, and then it was all over in the fifth with the painstaking rebuilding of his career suddenly in ruins.
After landing a few promising blows, any signs of a fightback faded with a right to the chin that sent Joshua down, the former IBF, WBA and IBO champion this time unable to get back on his feet.
“I’ve only got a few words to say: Are you not entertained?,” declared Dubois after the biggest win, and first at Wembley, of a 24-fight career with two defeats.
“I’m a gladiator, I’m a warrior to the bitter end. I want to get to the top level of this game and reach my full potential.
“I’ve been on a rollercoaster ride. This is my time, this is my redemption story, and I’m not going to stop until I reach my full potential.”
RECORD CROWD
Organisers said a British post-World War Two record of 96,000 spectators attended the Saudi-funded fight at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Among them were Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, singing three songs on his 52nd birthday ahead of a reunion next year, and Ukraine’s WBC, WBA and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Usyk has beaten both Joshua and Dubois already and will fight Britain’s Tyson Fury, also present, in a rematch in Saudi Arabia in December.
Joshua might have hoped to have a crack at the winner of that fight but instead faces an uncertain future with Dubois sending a seismic ripple through the familiar heavyweight landscape.
Dubois said he hoped for another shot at Usyk, who beat him in nine rounds in Wroclaw, Poland, last year.
Usyk previously held the IBF belt but vacated it for the Fury rematch, with Dubois the interim holder and upgraded to world champion in June.
“Credit to him and his team. We rolled the dice of success, but we came up short,” said Joshua after his 13th world heavyweight title fight left him with a record of four defeats from 32 bouts.
He had first won the IBF belt in 2016 from Charles Martin at London’s O2 Arena. Joshua then lost it to Andy Ruiz in 2019 but won it back later that year. Usyk then took it from him in 2021.
“We keep rolling the dice. I had a sharp opponent, a fast opponent and a lot of mistakes from my end, but that’s the game.”
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn said he expected to exercise a rematch clause.
“It’s a dangerous fight because he’s growing in confidence all the time but he’ll believe he can beat him,” he said.
-Reuters
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