| Realname | Friday Chinedu Ahunanya |
|---|---|
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | Heavyweight |
| Birth date | 19 November 1971 (age 54) |
| Birth place | Port Harcourt, Nigeria |
| Style | Orthodox |
| Total | 36 |
| Wins | 24 |
| Ko | 13 |
| Losses | 8 |
| Draws | 3 |
| No contests | 1 |
Friday Chinedu Ahunanya (born 19 November 1971) is a Nigerian professional boxer.[1] He is a journeyman heavyweight, best known for beating several undefeated prospects and for his appearances on ESPN fight cards.
Amateur career
- 1994: World Cup, Bangkok, Thailand, Heavyweight:
- Lost to Georgi Kandelaki (Georgia) on points
- 1994: Commonwealth Games, Victoria, Heavyweight:
- Defeated Roland Raforme (Seychelles) on points
- Lost to Stephen Gallinger (Canada) on points
Professional career
Known as Friday "The 13th," Ahunanya began his career in 1998 with a good deal of promise, winning his first 16 fights including a victory over undefeated (16–0–1) Nate Jones. In 2001 he lost a decision to undefeated (15–0) Olympian and future titlist Serguei Lyakhovich. In 2002, he handed French Olympian Josue Blocus his first loss.
In 2004, he had his only early loss when hit in the eye in the 4th round by Lance Whitaker. The loss to Whitaker was the beginning of the decline for Ahunanya. He went on to lose to Taurus Sykes in New Mexico, who was not highly regarded in spite of his 22-1-1 record in 2005, arguably the low point of his career.
He then drew with fringe contender Dominick Guinn, and then was competitive in losing efforts against undefeated prospects Sultan Ibragimov (Olympic silver medalist) and Alexander Povetkin (Olympic Gold medalist).
In 2007 he rebounded by handing 19-0 New Zealand prospect Shane Cameron his first loss by knocking him down twice in the 12th and final round. After the second knockdown, the referee intervened and stopped the contest, earning Ahunanya a TKO victory. In 2008 he stopped another undefeated prospect in Alonzo Butler.
Ahunanya lost to David Tua in March 2010 in New Zealand via unanimous decision. However Ahunanya and his manager claimed he should have won, and would have if the fight had been in the USA. After further review it was obvious that David Tua won the fight.
Professional boxing record
| 24 Wins (13 knockouts, 11 decisions), 9 Losses (1 knockout, 8 decisions), 3 Draws[2] | |||||||
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 17-0 | Mike Perez | UD | 10 | 30/12/2011 | Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa, Cabazon, California | |
| Loss | 32-2 | Chris Arreola | UD | 10 | 09/07/2011 | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| Loss | 23-17-2 | Cisse Salif | UD | 6 | 24/05/2011 | Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, California | |
| Loss | 50-3-1 | David Tua | UD | 12 | 31/03/2010 | Trusts Stadium, Auckland | WBO Asia Pacific/Oriental Heavyweight Titles. |
| Win | 26-0-1 | Alonzo Butler | UD | 10 | 20/06/2008 | Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| Win | 19-0 | Shane Cameron | TKO | 12 | 02/11/2007 | Skycity Convention Centre, Auckland | PABA/WBO Asia Pacific/WBA NABA Heavyweight Titles. Referee stopped the bout at 2:14 of the 12th round. |
| Draw | 7-1 | Franklin Lawrence | SD | 8 | 06/07/2007 | The Orleans, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| Win | 21-9-2 | James Walton | TKO | 2 | 15/06/2007 | The Orleans, Las Vegas, Nevada | Referee stopped the bout at 2:50 of the second round. |
| Win | 15-23-1 | Ramon Hayes | UD | 6 | 27/04/2007 | The Orleans, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| Loss | 6-0 | Alexander Povetkin | UD | 6 | 22/04/2006 | SAP Arena, Mannheim | |
| Loss | 17-0 | Sultan Ibragimov | TD | 9 | 16/09/2005 | Gwinnett Center, Duluth, Georgia | WBO Asia Pacific Heavyweight Title. |
| Draw | 25-2 | Dominick Guinn | PTS | 10 | 22/04/2005 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| Loss | 22-1-1 | Taurus Sykes | UD | 12 | 11/03/2005 | Lea County Events Center, Hobbs, New Mexico | WBA NABA Heavyweight Title. |
| Loss | 27-2-1 | Lance Whitaker | TKO | 5 | 17/04/2004 | Florida State Fairgrounds, Tampa, Florida | WBO NABO/WBA NABA Heavyweight Titles. Referee stopped the bout at 0:42 of the fifth round. |
| Win | 28-15 | Thomas Williams | KO | 4 | 05/12/2003 | Seminole Casino, Coconut Creek, Florida | Williams knocked out at 1:34 of the fourth round. |
| Win | 15-17 | Onebo Maxime | UD | 10 | 23/08/2003 | Seminole Casino, Coconut Creek, Florida | |
| Win | 12-3-1 | Francisco Daniel Silva | TKO | 1 | 28/06/2003 | Seminole Casino, Coconut Creek, Florida | Referee stopped the bout at 1:13 of the first round. |
| Draw | 32-12 | Terrence Lewis | PTS | 10 | 28/02/2003 | The Orleans, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| Win | 12-0 | Josue Blocus | SD | 10 | 01/06/2002 | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| Loss | 15-0 | Siarhei Liakhovich | UD | 12 | 17/11/2001 | Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada | WBA NABA Heavyweight Title. |
| Win | 6-8-2 | James V. Lester | TKO | 1 | 30/06/2001 | Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada | Referee stopped the bout at 2:28 of the first round. |
| Win | 16-0-1 | Nate Jones | SD | 12 | 03/03/2001 | Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada | WBA NABA Heavyweight Title. |
| Win | 11-5-1 | Otis Tisdale | UD | 8 | 28/11/2000 | The Orleans, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| Win | 3-2-1 | Ivy Calvin | KO | 5 | 26/10/2000 | Hollywood Park Racetrack, Inglewood, California | Calvin knocked out at 1:06 of the fifth round. |
| Win | 11-1 | Derrell Dixon | PTS | 8 | 16/09/2000 | MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| Win | 13-25-8 | Wesley Martin | TKO | 8 | 11/08/2000 | Paris Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| Win | 8-6-3 | Agustin Corpus | TKO | 3 | 01/04/2000 | The Regent, Las Vegas, Nevada | Referee stopped the bout at 2:59 of the third round. |
| Win | 4-2-1 | Donald Macon | TKO | 1 | Mar 3, 2000 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada | Referee stopped the bout at 1:40 of the first round. |
| Win | -- | Juan Carlos Maldonado | TKO | 1 | 12/02/1999 | The Orleans, Las Vegas, Nevada | Referee stopped the bout at 1:51 of the first round. |
| Win | 4-5-1 | Willie Chapman | UD | 6 | 20/11/1998 | The Orleans, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| Win | 3-2-1 | James V. Lester | PTS | 6 | 31/07/1998 | Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| Win | -- | Tahavalu Samiu | KO | 3 | 11/07/1998 | Reno Hilton Casino Resort, Reno, Nevada | |
| Win | -- | Joe L. Gray | UD | 4 | 15/05/1998 | The Orleans, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| Win | 1-0 | Darrell Morgan | PTS | 4 | 09/04/1998 | Phoenix, Arizona | |
| Win | 6-0 | Shane William Heavyrunner | TKO | 4 | 20/03/1998 | The Orleans, Las Vegas, Nevada | Referee stopped the bout at 2:22 of the fourth round. |
| Win | -- | Larry Wilson | TKO | 1 | 27/02/1998 | The Orleans, Las Vegas, Nevada | Referee stopped the bout at 1:18 of the first round. |
References
- ^ "Cris Arreola unsatisfied against Friday Ahunanya, but wins big". ESPN.com. July 10, 2011. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
- ^ "BoxRec". boxrec.com