Henry AKINWONDE

Born in England to Nigerian parents, Henry Akinwande spent most of his childhood in Nigeria before returning to England as a teenager. He reached four successive Amateur Boxing Association finals in the heavyweight division between 1986 and 1989, winning the championship in 1988 and 1989.

Akinwande turned professional in 1989 won twenty nine of his first thirty fights (the other was a draw) picking up the British Commonwealth and European heavyweight titles in the process. In his next fight he knocked Jeremy Williams of the USA to claim the vacant WBO world heavyweight title but after three successful defences gave the title up to pursue a shot at the, arguably more prestigious, WBC version of the title.

His challenge for the WBC championship against Lennox Lewis ended disastrously for Akinwande when he disqualified for persistent holding in the fifth round of the bout.

A proposed match with Evander Holyfield for the WBA title was abandoned when Akinwande tested positive for Hepatitis B. Cleared to return after a year’s absence for boxing he embarked on a series of victories though defeats to Oliver McCall and Oleg Platov coupled with a less than crowd-pleasing style meant he never received another shot at the heavyweight championships. As of September 2008 he has a record of 50 wins, 4 defeats and a draw and has not yet officially announced his retirement.