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Franco Wanyama

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Franco Wanyama
Franco and his students in 2013
Born
Franco Wanyama

(1968-02-07)7 February 1968
Kampala, Uganda
Died21 March 2019(2019-03-21) (aged 51)
NationalityUgandan
Other namesThunderbird
Statistics
Weight(s)Middleweight

Cruiserweight

Heavyweight
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Reach75 in (191 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights29
Wins20
Wins by KO7
Losses7
Draws2

Franco "Thunderbird" Wanyama (7 February 1968 - 21 March 2019[1]) in Kampala, was a Ugandan amateur middleweight and professional cruiser/heavyweight boxer of the 1980s, '90s and 2000s. He was an amateur representative of Uganda at middleweight in the Boxing at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, losing to eventual bronze medal winner Chris Sande of Kenya, and as a professional won the BeNeLux heavyweight title, BeNeLux cruiserweight title, Commonwealth cruiserweight title, and World Boxing Federation (WBF) cruiserweight title, and was a challenger for the Commonwealth cruiserweight title against Chris Okoh, his professional fighting weight varied from 181 lb (82 kg; 12 st 13 lb), i.e. cruiserweight to 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb), i.e. heavyweight. Wanyama defeated notable fighters such as Jimmy Thunder, Carl Thompson and Johnny Nelson and was sparring partner to Vitali Klitschko & Wladimir Klitschko. He lived his last years in Rugby, Warwickshire, England and had 3 children, Shannon Wanyama, Nellie Wanyama and Wanga Wanyama.[2]

Early life

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Franco started boxing around the age of 6 after becoming curious of what was inside a local boxing gym.

Professional career

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Franco made his professional debut on 25 December 1989 against Dutch fighter John Held (7-13-2) it ended a 6-round points draw. In 1990 he beat future world title holder Carl Thompson on points. In 1993 he won a bout against another future world champion, Johnny Nelson, who was disqualified for repeated holding. In 1995 he was matched with former world champion Thomas Hearns but the fight was called off at the last minute and Hearns was replaced by ranked Heavyweight Jimmy Thunder, Wanyama and gave away a 30 pounds in weight but still came away with a points victory.


Later years

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After his retirement Franco worked as a sparring partner, notably with the Klitschko brothers. From 2007 he became a youth worker and boxing coach in Rugby, taking classes for the youth service whilst also being a coach at a local amateur boxing gym. On the 21st of March 2019 Franco died at his home in Rugby.[3]

Professional boxing record

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29 fights 20 wins 7 losses
By knockout 7 5
By decision 13 2
Draws 2
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
29 Win 20–7–2 Hungary Csaba Olah TKO 3 (6) 2000-06-16 Belgium Ghent, Belgium
28 Win 19–7–2 Czech Republic Daniel Jerling PTS 6 1999-10-15 Belgium Ghent, Belgium
27 Win 18–7–2 Belgium Geert Blieck MD 6 1999-04-05 Belgium Ghent, Belgium
26 Win 17–7–2 Uganda Abdul Kadou PTS 10 1997-12-25 Uganda Nakivubo Stadium, Kampala, Uganda
25 Loss 16–7–2 Belgium Dirk Wallyn TKO 5 (8) 1996-12-25 United Kingdom Izegem, Belgium
24 Loss 16–6–2 Belgium Dirk Wallyn TKO 7 (8) 1996-11-01 United Kingdom Izegem, Belgium
23 Loss 16–5–2 United Kingdom Garry Delaney PTS 6 1996-02-06 United Kingdom Festival Hall, Basildon, England
22 Loss 16–4–2 United Kingdom Chris Okoh TKO 8 (12) 1995-09-29 United Kingdom York Hall, Bethnal Green, England For vacant Commonwealth (British Empire) Cruiserweight title.
21 Win 16–3–2 New Zealand James Thunder SD 10 1995-07-16 United States Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
20 Draw 15–3–2 Bulgaria Kalin Stoyanov PTS 8 1994-04-02 Belgium De Haan, Belgium
19 Win 15–3–1 United Kingdom Tony Booth TKO 2 (12) 1994-01-28 Belgium Waregem, Belgium Won vacant Commonwealth (British Empire) Cruiserweight title.
18 Win 14–3–1 Jamaica Bobbie Joe Edwards PTS 8 1993-12-25 Belgium Izegem, Belgium
17 Win 13–3–1 United Kingdom Johnny Nelson DQ 10 (12) 1993-10-01 Belgium Waregem, Belgium Won WBF (Federation) Cruiserweight title.
Nelson disqualified for repeated fouls.
16 Win 12–3–1 Bulgaria Daniel Krumov TD 2 (6) 1993-04-23 Belgium Waregem, Belgium
15 Win 11–3–1 Netherlands John Held UD 10 1993-01-29 Belgium Waregem, Belgium Won BeNeLux Cruiserweight title.
14 Win 10–3–1 United Kingdom Tony Booth PTS 6 1992-12-25 Belgium Izegem, Belgium
13 Win 9–3–1 Colombia Faustino Gonzalez TKO 3 (6) 1992-11-01 Belgium Izegem, Belgium
12 Win 8–3–1 Russia Vladimir Dyukarev TKO 1 (6) 1992-10-02 Belgium Waregem, Belgium
11 Loss 7–3–1 Netherlands John Emmen KO 10 (10) 1991-06-24 Netherlands Weenahal, Rotterdam, Netherlands For BeNeLux Heavyweight title.
10 Win 7–2–1 Netherlands Ramon Voorn PTS 10 1991-02-18 Netherlands Sportcentrum Valkencourt, Valkenswaard, Netherlands
9 Win 6–2–1 Ivory Coast Boubakar Sanogo PTS 8 1990-12-25 Belgium Izegem, Belgium
8 Loss 5–2–1 France Norbert Ekassi KO 2 (8) 1990-10-13 Belgium Ghent, Belgium
7 Win 5–1–1 United Kingdom Ian Bulloch TKO 5 (6) 1990-05-12 Belgium Waasmunster, Belgium
6 Win 4–1–1 United Kingdom Carl Thompson PTS 6 1990-04-21 Belgium Sint-Amandsberg, Belgium
5 Win 3–1–1 Algeria Mohamed Zaoui TKO 3 (6) 1990-04-07 France Carvin, France
4 Loss 2–1–1 France Christophe Girard PTS 8 1990-03-16 France Blois, France
3 Win 2–0–1 Guadeloupe Serge Bolivard PTS 6 1990-02-10 Belgium Roeselare, Belgium
2 Win 1–0–1 United Kingdom Abner Blackstock TKO 4 (6) 1990-01-12 Belgium Waregem, Belgium
1 Draw 0–0–1 Netherlands John Held PTS 6 1989-12-25 Belgium Izegem, Belgium Professional debut

References

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  1. ^ "Crowdfunding has to grant Freddy De Kerpel's former pupil a worthy burial (Google translated into English)". Nieuwsblad. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Statistics at boxrec.com". boxrec.com. 31 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  3. ^ "The life & death of Franco Wanyama: Another proud man who deserved more help than he ever received". The Independent. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
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