Azumah Nelson rise to fame as a world star became noticeable in 1983 when he won all four of his fights and began 1984 by beating Hector Cortez by decision on 9 March in Las Vegas. Then, on 8 December of that year, he became boxing royalty by knocking out Wilfredo Gómez in round 11 to win the WBC featherweight championship.
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Ghanaian boxing great turns 58 years today
Azumah Nelson was born on 19th July, 1958.
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The Ghanaian boxer successfully defended his title six times before moving up to 130 pounds, where he continued to thrive. He narrowly outpointed Mario Martinez to win the vacant WBC title in 1988 and successfully defended 10 times.
During that stretch, Nelson moved up to 135 pounds for one fight to take on Pernell Whitaker but lost a unanimous decision.
In the summer of 1992 Nelson met Jeff Fenech, who was bidding to become a four-weight world champion. They met at the Mirage in Las Vegas on the undercard of Mike Tyson-Razor Ruddock and at the conclusion of the fight, most observers ringside thought Fenech had won. The fight was ruled a draw, however.
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The rematch took place nine months later in Australia. This time Nelson scored an eighth-round knockout to retain his title and register THE RING Upset of the Year for 1992.
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