Azumah Nelson: I wanted to be President of Ghana

The 68-year-old retired as one of Ghana and Africa’s most decorated pugilists after competing for nearly three decades.

Nelson particularly made his name in the 1980s and 1990s, having held the WBC featherweight and super featherweight titles.

Opening up on his childhood, though, he said he had dreams of becoming the President of Ghana when he was young.

Azumah Nelson Pulse Ghana

“As a child you would say whatever you want to do. If I didn’t do boxing, I would want to be a president. I said what I wanted to do,” he said on the Legends show on TV XYZ.

Explaining how he took an interest in boxing, Nelson said: “My dad loved boxing but my grandfather won’t allow him to go that far. When I was young, my dad took me out to watch a boxing match… When we got there, two small boys were fighting but one was older than the other.

“When they were done, I saw tears run down the small boy’s eyes and I felt the older one had cheated the small boy, so I told my dad I wanted to fight with the older boy and he said okay.

“But I insisted on fighting right now, not knowing there was a process to go through before you can fight but I was thinking if it’s fighting then let’s go and fight now… I wanted to fight for the small boy.”

Azumah Nelson Pulse Ghana

Nelson fought 47 bouts, winning a staggering 39 times, drawing twice and losing just six, in a career that saw him become a two-weight world champion.

The Ghanaian boxing legend has also been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York.