Olawale O. "Ola" Afolabi (born 15 March 1980) is an English former professional boxer. He is a two-time former WBO interim cruiserweight champion, as well as a two-time former IBO cruiserweight champion.
Career
Afolabi began his professional career in 2002. On 14 March 2009, he defeated Enzo Maccarinelli to win the WBO interim cruiserweight title at the
Manchester Arena in
Manchester, England.
He lost by unanimous decision against full WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck at Arena Ludwigsburg in Ludwigsburg, Germany on 5 December 2009.
Afolabi secured a first round knockout over former European champion Terry Dunstan at Imtech Arena, Altona, Hamburg, Germany, on 2 July 2011.
On 3 March 2012, Afolabi became a two-time WBO interim cruiserweight champion when his opponent, Valery Brudov, retired at the end of the fifth round of their fight at Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf, Germany.
He got a rematch against Marco Huck on 5 May 2012, for Huck's WBO Cruiserweight championship. The fight at Messehalle in Erfurt, Germany ended in a majority draw.
Afolabi and Huck met for a third time at Max-Schmeling-Halle, Prenzlauer Berg in Berlin, Germany, on 8 June 2013. Afolabi lost by majority decision.
He defeated Łukasz Janik by majority decision to win the vacant IBO cruiserweight title at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, USA, on 2 November 2013.
Afolabi fought Victor Emilio Ramírez for the vacant IBF interim cruiserweight title at Villa La Ñata Sporting Club, Benavídez in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 10 April 2015, losing via unanimous decision..
On 4 November 2015, he defeated defending champion Rakhim Chakhkiyev by fifth round knockout to win the IBO cruiserweight title at TatNeft Arena in Kazan, Russia.
His first title defense was a fourth fight with Marco Huck, at Gerry Weber Stadion in Halle, Germany, on 27 February 2016, which he lost when he retired on his stool at the end of the 10th round.
On his 36th birthday, 15 March 2016, Afolabi announced his retirement from professional boxing.
However, he made a comeback 14 months later to face Mario Daser for the once again vacant IBO cruiserweight title at Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany, on 19 May 2017. Afolabi was knocked out in the third round.
Professional boxing record
|-
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="8"|
22 Wins (11 knockouts, 11 decisions),
6 Losses,
4 Draws
|-
! Result
! Record
! Opponent
! Type
! Rd., Time
! Date
! Location
! Notes
|- align=center
|Loss
|
|align=left|
Mario Daser
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|22–5–4
|align=left|
Marco Huck
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|22–4–4
|align=left| Rakhim Chakhkiyev
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|21–4–4
|align=left| Victor Emilio Ramírez
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|21–3–4
|align=left| Anthony Caputo Smith
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|20–3–4
|align=left| Łukasz Janik
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|19–3–4
|align=left|
Marco Huck
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Draw
|19–2–4
|align=left|
Marco Huck
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|19–2–3
|align=left|
Valery Brudov
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|18–2–3
|align=left| Lukasz Rusiewicz
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|17–2–3
|align=left|
Terry Dunstan
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|16–2–3
|align=left| Lubos Suda
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|15–2–3
|align=left| Sandro Siproshvili
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|14–2–3
|align=left|
Marco Huck
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|14–1–3
|align=left| Enzo Maccarinelli
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|13–1–3
|align=left| DeLeon Tinsley
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|12–1–3
|align=left|
Eric Fields
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|11–1–3
|align=left|
Orlin Norris
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|10–1–3
|align=left| Michael Simms
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|9–1–3
|align=left| James Walton
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Draw
|8–1–3
|align=left| Jonathan Young
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|8–1–2
|align=left| Willie Chapman
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|7–1–2
|align=left| Carlos Raul Ibarra
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|6–1–2
|align=left| Man Semou Diouf
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|5–1–2
|align=left| Gustavo Arroyo
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|4–1–2
|align=left| Germain Thedford
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Draw
|3–1–2
|align=left| Anthony Russell
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|3–1–1
|align=left| Alejandro Rafael Virgen
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|2–1–1
|align=left|
Allan Green
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|2–0–1
|align=left| Joe Mendoza
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|1–0–1
|align=left| Tom Perea
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Draw
|0–0–1
|align=left| Gerard Barber
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|}
External links
