Isaac Chilemba
| Isaac Chilemba | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Nickname(s) | Golden Boy |
| Rated at |
Super-middleweight Light-heavyweight |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) |
| Reach | 73 in (185 cm) |
| Nationality | Malawian |
| Born |
17 May 1987 Blantyre, Malawi |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 31 |
| Wins | 24 |
| Wins by KO | 10 |
| Losses | 5 |
| Draws | 2 |
Miguel Isaac Chilemba Zuze (born 17 May 1987), best known as Isaac Chilemba, is a Malawian professional boxer. He is a former IBO super-middleweight and WBC International light-heavyweight champion, having also held the ABU titles at both weights. As of July 2016, Chilemba is ranked by The Ring magazine as the world's seventh best light-heavyweight.
Early professional career
Chilemba made his professional debut in Gauteng, South Africa on 19 October 2005 defeating Thamsanga Tindleni in the 2nd round of a 4 round contest. He compiled a run of eight successive victories before dropping a points decision to Willbeforce Shihepo on 5 July 2007 at the Emperor's Palace in Gauteng. The reverse to Shihepo was immediately rectified in his next fight, again in Gauteng, on 21 November 2007 defeating Shihepo on points over six rounds. Two more fights followed in 2008 resulting in wins over David Basajjamivule and Chamunorowa Gonorenda before Chilemba got the opportunity to fight for the African Boxing Unions super middleweight championship on 13 September 2008. The fight for the title once again took place at the Emperor's Palace and pitched Chilemba against the experienced former Commonwealth champion Charles Adamu with Chilemba winning the fight with a 12 round decision to lift the title.[1][2]
Championship fights
In his next fight Chilemba stepped up to light heavyweight and challenged former victim David Basajjamivule for the WBO version of the light heavyweight title. The fight at the Graceland Casino in Mpumalanga took place on 13 June 2009 and resulted in a second victory over the Ugandan.[3] Chilemba followed this up on 31 October 2009 with another title win, this time defeating French based Congolese fighter Doudou Ngumba to lift the African Boxing Union's light heavyweight version as well as the WBC International title.[4] A first defence of the WBC title was due to have been made on 26 March 2010 with the Malawian travelling to England to meet former British champion Tony Oakey on a Ricky Hatton promoted bill. The fight however never materialised after Oakey lost an English title fight to fellow countryman Danny McIntosh.[5] Following Oakey, the next opponent lined up for Chilemba was to be Rupert van Aswegen but he then chose to retire from the sport altogether leaving the Malawian once again without an opponent.
IBO World Title
Following the pullout, Chilemba moved back down at super middleweight for the chance to fight undefeated Australian Michael Bolling on 19 June 2010 for the vacant IBO world title.[6] The fight at the Emperor's Palace, resulted in another win for the Malawian and was his fourth title fight in a row in which a different title had been on the line.[7] Chilemba made the first defence of his IBO belt on 6 November 2010 returning to the Emperors Palace and retaining with a gruelling draw against touted South African Thomas Oosthuizen despite being the underdog going into the fight.[8] On 25 February 2011 Chilemba travelled to Tulsa, Oklahoma to fight in the United States for the first time. His opponent, the unbeaten Russian Maxim Vlasov had won all 19 of his previous fights and managed to knock Chilemba down twice in the 8th round. Despite this the Malawian was able to win the fight over the 10 round distance.[9] Chilemba returned to South Africa for his next fight against Namibian boxer Vikapita Meroro and retained the WBC International light heavyweight title on 26 March 2011 with a unanimous points win.[10]
Professional boxing record
| Professional record summary | ||
| 31 fights | 24 wins | 5 losses |
| By knockout | 10 | 1 |
| By decision | 14 | 4 |
| Draws | 2 | |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | Loss | 24–5–2 |  Oleksandr Gvozdyk |
RTD | 8 (10), 3:00 | Nov 19, 2016 |  T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. |
For NABF light-heavyweight title |
| 30 | Loss | 24–4–2 |  Sergey Kovalev |
UD | 12 | Jul 11, 2016 | Divs Hotel, Yekaterinburg, Russia |
For WBA (Undisputed), IBF and WBO light-heavyweight titles |
| 29 | Loss | 24–3–2 |  Eleider Álvarez |
MD | 12 | Nov 28, 2015 |  Videotron Centre, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
For WBC Silver light-heavyweight title |
| 28 | Win | 24–2–2 | Vasily Lepikhin |
UD | 10 | Mar 14, 2015 | Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
Won vacant NABF light-heavyweight title |
| 27 | Win | 23–2–2 | Cory Cummings |
TKO | 7 (10), 2:28 | Aug 2, 2014 | Revel Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
|
| 26 | Win | 22–2–2 | Denis Grachev |
UD | 10 | Mar 15, 2014 | Sands Casino Resort, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
|
| 25 | Win | 21–2–2 |  Michael Gbenga |
UD | 8 | Nov 16, 2013 | Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona, New York, U.S. |
|
| 24 | Loss | 20–2–2 |  Tony Bellew |
UD | 12 | May 25, 2013 | The O2 Arena, London, England |
For WBC Silver light-heavyweight title |
| 23 | Draw | 20–1–2 | Tony Bellew |
SD | 12 | Mar 30, 2013 | Echo Arena, Liverpool, England |
For WBC Silver light-heavyweight title |
| 22 | Win | 20–1–1 | Rayco Saunders |
UD | 8 | Sep 29, 2012 | Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut, U.S. |
|
| 21 | Win | 19–1–1 | Edison Miranda |
UD | 10 | Feb 3, 2012 | Texas Station Casino, North Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
|
| 20 | Win | 18–1–1 | Jameson Bostic |
KO | 2 (8), 1:48 | Oct 1, 2011 | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
|
| 19 | Win | 17–1–1 |  Vikapita Meroro |
UD | 10 | Mar 26, 2011 |  Emperor's Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa |
Won vacant WBC International light-heavyweight title |
| 18 | Win | 16–1–1 | Maxim Vlasov |
UD | 10 | Feb 25, 2011 | Million Dollar Elm Casino, Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. |
|
| 17 | Draw | 15–1–1 | Thomas Oosthuizen |
SD | 12 | Nov 6, 2010 | Emperor's Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa |
Retained IBO super-middleweight title |
| 16 | Win | 15–1 |  Michael Bolling |
UD | 12 | Jun 19, 2010 | Emperor's Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa |
Won vacant IBO super-middleweight title |
| 15 | Win | 14–1 |  Doudou Ngumbu |
UD | 12 | Oct 31, 2009 | Emperor's Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa |
Won WBC International and ABU light-heavyweight titles |
| 14 | Win | 13–1 |  David Basajjamivule |
UD | 12 | Jun 13, 2009 | Graceland Hotel Casino, Secunda, South Africa |
Won vacant WBO Africa light-heavyweight title |
| 13 | Win | 12–1 | Charles Adamu |
UD | 12 | Sep 13, 2008 | Emperor's Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa |
Won vacant ABU super-middleweight title |
| 12 | Win | 11–1 |  Chamunorwa Gonorenda |
KO | 4 (6) | Jul 15, 2008 | Emperor's Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa |
|
| 11 | Win | 10–1 | David Basajjamivule |
TKO | 8 (8) | Apr 29, 2008 | Emperor's Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa |
|
| 10 | Win | 9–1 | Willbeforce Shihepo |
PTS | 6 | Nov 21, 2007 | Emperor's Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa |
|
| 9 | Loss | 8–1 | Willbeforce Shihepo |
PTS | 6 | Jul 5, 2007 | Emperor's Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa |
|
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Godfrey Nene |
TKO | 2 (6) | May 12, 2007 | Emperor's Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa |
|
| 7 | Win | 7–0 |  Charles Chisamba |
PTS | 6 | Mar 27, 2007 | Emperor's Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa |
|
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Emmanuel Gwala |
TKO | 4 (6) | Dec 1, 2006 | Orlando Communal Hall, Soweto, South Africa |
|
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Ronnie Lategan |
TKO | 2 (4) | Nov 17, 2006 | Emperor's Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa |
|
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Mark Sloane |
PTS | 4 | Jul 11, 2006 | Emperor's Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa |
|
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Sithembiso Ngcobo |
KO | 1 (4), 1:18 | May 25, 2006 | Carnival City, Brakpan, South Africa |
|
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Oupa Mahlangu |
TKO | 4 (4) | Feb 10, 2006 | Graceland Hotel Casino, Secunda, South Africa |
|
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Thamsanqa Tindleni |
TKO | 4 (4) | Oct 19, 2005 | Carnival City, Secunda, South Africa |
Professional debut |
Titles in boxing
| Regional titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vacant Title last held by Charles Adamu |
ABU super-middleweight champion September 13, 2008 – April 2009 Vacated |
Vacant Title next held by Flash Issaka |
| New title | WBO Africa light-heavyweight champion June 13, 2009 – September 2009 Vacated |
Vacant Title next held by Vikapita Meroro |
| Preceded by Doudou Ngumbu |
WBC International light-heavyweight champion October 31, 2009 – July 2010 Vacated |
Vacant Title next held by Himself |
| ABU light-heavyweight champion October 31, 2009 – July 2010 Vacated |
Vacant Title next held by Doudou Ngumbu | |
| Vacant Title last held by Himself |
WBC International light-heavyweight champion March 26, 2011 – January 2012 Vacated |
Vacant Title next held by Joey Vegas |
| Vacant Title last held by Jean Pascal |
NABF light-heavyweight champion March 14, 2015 – August 2015 Vacated |
Vacant Title next held by Oleksandr Gvozdyk |
| Minor world titles | ||
| Vacant Title last held by Peter Manfredo, Jr. |
IBO super-middleweight champion June 19, 2010 – January 2011 Vacated |
Vacant Title next held by Thomas Oosthuizen |
References
- ↑ "Isaac Chilemba record". Boxrec. 17 May 1987. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
- ↑ "Malawian boxer beats Ghanain". Africa News. 25 January 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
- ↑ Ngasa times | Malawi's Chilemba wins WBO African title Archived 5 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Ngasa Times | Malawi's Chilemba wins WBC light heavyweight title Archived 4 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ The BNL Times | Berman plans big for Chilemba
- ↑ Kulani Nkuna (7 June 2010). "Chilemba to take over Bolling title shot". Business Day. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
- ↑ Africa News | Malawian beats Aussie to claim IBO belt
- ↑ Sy Lerman, Sapa (7 November 2010). "so called war ends in a draw". Times Live. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
- ↑ "Nation on Sunday | Chilemba takes USA by storm". Nationmw.net. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
- ↑ Namibia Sport | Meroro loses to Chilemba