Henry Akinwande

Biography

Henry Akinwande, born in London, England, spent his early childhood in Nigeria before returning to England at 21 in 1986. He began his boxing career as an amateur, winning the ABA heavyweight title in 1988 and 1989 and representing Great Britain at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, where he lost in the first round to Arnold Vanderlyde of the Netherlands.

Akinwande turned professional in 1989 and won his first 18 bouts. He then twice challenged for the European heavyweight title against Axel Schulz, drawing the first bout and winning the second. Akinwande also captured the Commonwealth title and defeated notable opponents such as Tony Tucker and Johnny Nelson.

In 1996, Akinwande won the vacant WBO World Heavyweight Title by stopping Jeremy Williams in the third round. He defended the belt twice before vacating it to challenge WBC champion Lennox Lewis in 1997. However, Akinwande lost the fight by disqualification in the fifth round for repeated holding.

After recovering from a positive hepatitis B test, Akinwande returned to the ring in 1999 and won eight fights, including victories over Orlin Norris and Maurice Harris. In 2001, he suffered his second defeat against Oliver McCall, being knocked out in the tenth round.

Akinwande bounced back with nine consecutive wins, including capturing the IBF Intercontinental Title. However, he lost a split decision to Oleg Platov in 2006 and his final bout against Ondrej Pála in 2008, ultimately retiring from boxing.