Izu Ugonoh
Izuagbe Ugonoh | |
---|---|
Born | Izuagbe Ugonoh 2 November 1986 |
Nationality | Polish |
Other names | Izu |
Statistics | |
Weight(s) | Cruiserweight Heavyweight |
Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
Reach | 84 in (213 cm) |
Stance | Orthodox |
Boxing record | |
Total fights | 19 |
Wins | 18 |
Wins by KO | 15 |
Losses | 1 |
Izuagbe Ugonoh (born November 2, 1986) is a Polish professional boxer and former kickboxer, who competes in the heavyweight division. He is a graduate of the Jędrzej Śniadecki University School of Physical Education and Sport in Gdańsk.
Early life
Izuagbe was born to Nigerian parents in the Polish city of Szczecin. He graduated from the Jędrzej Śniadecki University School of Physical Educations and Sport in Gdańsk.
Kickboxing career
He trained kick boxing at Gdańsk club GKSK Corpus. Due to his similarity in appearance and fighting style he is sometimes called the Polish Remy Bonjasky. He has also been inspired by Gökhan Saki.[citation needed]
In 2009, in the Austrian city of Villach, he won the Kickboxing World Championships gold medal in K-1 Rules to 91 kg, defeating Vladimir Mineev.[1] In 2010, he became European champion in the same formula in Baku. He met the local Zamig Athakishiyev in the final.[2][3]
Professional boxing career
Early career
On October 16, 2010, he made his professional debut as a boxer in Legionowo, beating Igoris Papunia from Lithuania by first round knockout.[4] He fought his second professional fight on November 20, 2010, in a show in Nysa, during which he defeated Pavel Habra by technical KO in the first round. Ugonoh’s first fight of 2011 was against Rad Rashid on the 2nd April. Ugonoh won the bout by unanimous decision over four rounds. Ugonoh went on to gain five stoppage wins by the end of 2012. He fought once in 2013, defeating Lukasz Rusiewicz by unanimous decision in a six round bout. Ugonoh also fought once in 2014 knocking out Junior Maletino Lakopo in two rounds.
Ugonoh next fought on the 5th March 2015, against Thomas Peato. Ugonoh won the bout by second round knockout. He went on to gain wins over Julius Long and Will Quarrie before facing Ibrahim Labaran for the interim WBA Oceania and WBO Africa heavyweight titles. Ugonoh won the fight by first round knockout. He also got a first round knockout win against Vicente Sandez in December 2015. Ugonoh’s first fight of 2016 was against Ricardo Humberto Ramirez, which he won by knockout in the fourth round. Ugonoh next fought on the 1st October, knocking out Gregory Tony in two rounds to pick up the vacant IBF Mediterranean heavyweight title.
Ugonoh vs Breazeale
On the 25th February 2017, Ugonoh faced former world title challenger Dominic Breazeale on the under card of Deontay Wilder vs Gerald Washington, in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. In a back and forth fight which saw both men hit the canvas, Breazeale came out on top after he dropped Ugonoh through the ropes in the fifth round. The fights' third round won the round of the year from The Ring Magazine.
Career from 2018
After losing to Breazeale in 2017, Ugonoh next returned to the ring on the 25th May 2018. Ugonoh face Fred Kassi in a ten round bout, winning the fight by stoppage after Kassi was retired on his stool at the end of the second round.
Personal life
Ugonoh also played a wrestling cameo in the Polish movie Afonia and the bees (2009) directed by Jan Jakub Kolski.
He calls himself a "black Pole" and says that he proudly represents Poland on the international arena. He often jokes that when he looks into a mirror, he "doesn't know what happened", referring to his skin color as atypical for ethnic Poles, a white ethnic group.[5]
His sister, Osi Ugonoh, works as a professional model, and is known for winning Poland's 4th edition of Top Model reality television series in 2014.[6]
Professional boxing record
19 fights | 18 wins | 1 loss |
---|---|---|
By knockout | 15 | 1 |
By decision | 3 | 0 |
No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
19 | Win | 18–1 | Fred Kassi | RTD | 2 (10), 3:00 | 25 May 2018 | Stadion Narodowy, Warsaw, Poland | |
18 | Loss | 17–1 | Dominic Breazeale | TKO | 5 (10) , 0:50 | 25 Feb 2017 | Legacy Arena, Birmingham, Alabama, USA | |
17 | Win | 17–0 | Grégory Tony | TKO | 2 (10) , 2:26 | 01 Oct 2016 | Vodafone Events Centre, Auckland, New Zealand | Won vacant IBF Mediterranean heavyweight title |
16 | Win | 16–0 | Ricardo Humberto Ramírez | KO | 4 (10), 1:47 | 21 Jul 2016 | Horncastle Arena, Christchurch, New Zealand | Retained WBO Africa heavyweight title |
15 | Win | 15–0 | Vicente Sandez | KO | 1 (10), 1:11 | 05 Dec 2015 | Claudelands Arena, Hamilton, New Zealand | Retained interim WBO Africa heavyweight title |
14 | Win | 14–0 | Ibrahim Labaran | TKO | 1 (10), 2:38 | 15 Oct 2015 | Trusts Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand | Won interim WBA Oceania & WBO Africa heavyweight titles |
13 | Win | 13–0 | Will Quarrie | KO | 2 (10), 2:14 | 01 Aug 2015 | Stadium Southland, Invercargill, New Zealand | |
12 | Win | 12–0 | Julius Long | UD | 8 | 13 Jun 2015 | Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North, New Zealand | |
11 | Win | 11–0 | Thomas Peato | TKO | 2 (6), 1:15 | 05 Mar 2015 | Vodafone Events Centre, Auckland, New Zealand | |
10 | Win | 10–0 | Junior Maletino Iakopo | TKO | 2 (6), 1:04 | 16 Oct 2014 | Trusts Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand | |
9 | Win | 9–0 | Lukasz Rusiewicz | UD | 6 | 23 Feb 2013 | Ergo Arena, Gdańsk, Poland | |
8 | Win | 8–0 | Mathieu Monnier | TKO | 5 (6) | 08 Dec 2012 | Spodek, Katowice, Poland | |
7 | Win | 7–0 | Björn Blaschke | TKO | 6 (6), 1:05 | 17 Mar 2012 | MOSiR Ice Rink, Krynica-Zdrój, Poland | |
6 | Win | 6–0 | Florians Strupits | TKO | 1 (6), 1:50 | 03 Dec 2011 | Hilton Warsaw Hotel, Warsaw, Poland | |
5 | Win | 5–0 | Fatih Ceyhan | RTD | 3 (4), 3:00 | 12 Nov 2011 | Gdynia Sports Arena, Gdynia, Poland | |
4 | Win | 4–0 | Patrick Berger | TKO | 2 (4), 2:08 | 15 Oct 2011 | Spodek, Katowice, Poland | |
3 | Win | 3–0 | Rashid Raad | UD | 4 | 02 Apr 2011 | Łuczniczka, Bydgoszcz, Poland | |
2 | Win | 2–0 | Pavel Habr | TKO | 1 (4), 2:47 | 20 Nov 2010 | AZS PWSZ Nysa, Nysa, Poland | |
1 | Win | 1–0 | Igor Papunia | KO | 1 (4), 1:29 | 16 Oct 2010 | Arena Legionowo, Legionowo, Poland | Professional debut |
References
- ^ "World Light Contact, Low Kick, K -1 Villach, Austria 19-26.10.2009 Rules". Polish Association of Kickboxing. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
- ^ "Bałanda and European champions Ugonoh". trojmiasto.pl. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
- ^ "Description of the championship fights Izu website GKSK Corpus". gkskcorpus.pl. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
- ^ "Impressive victory 'Izu' in debut". ringpolska.pl. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
- ^ "Ugonoh: Z dumą reprezentuję Polskę". sport.dziennik.pl. 24 March 2010.
- ^ "Osi Ugonoh wygrała 4. edycję "Top Model"!". Retrieved 2018-06-03.
External links
- Boxing record for Izu Ugonoh from BoxRec (registration required)
- Izuagbe Ugonoh at Polish FilmWeb