One of my favorite 90s HWs, even for a UK type fighter... I think he comes from the same village as Dikembe Motumbo Among others he defeated Maurice Harris, Axel SChultz, Cissie Salif, Timo Hoffman, Orlin Norris, Jimmy Thunder, Alexander Zolkin, Tony Tucker, Jeremy Williams, Johnny Nelson, Peter McNealy and even Big John Fury!!! How would he have fared against the likes of other top 90s guys like Ibeabuchi, Tua, and Byrd? And of course, how would he fare against 67 Ali?
Great ? He was never great. Change the thread to 'How average was Henry Akinwande ?' I'm waiting for the 'Was Funso Banjo an ATG ?' Thread.
He was quite good actually. There was nice skill on display when he dismantled Zolkin Better than Micheal Grant. Much better than guys like Kali Meehan , McCline , Oquendo .. those type of guys
I vaguely remember him seeing an old video of him as an amateur fighting in the final of the British amateur championships against a very young inexperienced Herbie Hide. A very untidy thrill free mess of a bout, there would have been no way that anyone watching that would have thought that both would later go on to hold versions of the world title in the pro ranks.
In some ways, Henry Akinwande is the missing Klitschko brother. Really tall. Really fit. 6'7" and 240-250 pounds. Always kept a fight at the distance. Liked to jab and grab and hold a lot. Had the same stoic personality. Enjoyed being WBO Champion when others didn't. He didn't punch nearly as hard as either, but he probably had a better chin than Wlad. Lost a couple a razor-thin decisions when he was well into his 40s, but also could've easily won them. Henry was really only soundly beaten in his entire career by Lennox Lewis. (And some say he floored Lewis). He was certainly embarrassed in that one, but the Klitschkos were embarrassed in fights a few times themselves, against much lesser competition than Lennox Lewis. His other loss was to Oliver McCall, when Akinwande got stopped with only 47 seconds left in the fight, with Henry ahead on the cards. (I don't know if Wlad could've beat Oliver McCall in 2001.) Beat Tony Tucker, Orlin Norris, Axel Shulz, Jimmy Thunder, Jeremy Williams, Ed Mahone, Alexander Zolkin, Scott Welch, Maurice Harris (when he was on his run), Johnny Nelson, Timo Hoffman and ... again ... was 47 seconds away from beating Oliver McCall. Not wonderful, but that's not much different than the types of guys Vitali was fighting most of his career. Honestly, if Henry looked at all physically like the Klitschkos, he could've been the third brother. Stylistically, there really wasn't much difference in the way he fought than the way they did. Hell, if you put Akinwande in against some Wlad's opponents who went the distance with him, like Mariusz Wach for example, you'd pretty much get the exact same dull fight.
I think I was still young enough and was able to get sucked into the media hype and so on. Not sure if I had seen any of Akinwande's fights before Lewis. I just knew of his unbeaten record and ''how awkward he could be for Lewis.'' etc Oh, this guy has a chance. Then the fight happened, and it was awkward for all of us. One of those times you could say you haven't seen anything like it in your life and actually mean it. At least I know I had not up to then. Akinwande's potential greatness ended on that night.
Dikembe Motumbo was born in Kinshasa, the capital city not a village, and Henry Akinwande in Dulwich, South London. Different continents but two black men must be from the same village right? Is this kind of racist trolling allowed on here?
Yeah he gets a bad wrap for the Lewis debacle, and rightfully so, but the boy has the physical tools and the skills. Would have loved to see him in there with Golota when Golota was still crazy
The World Body Odour Organisation has never been cool. I blame the British for them eventually gaining acceptance and adding to the already crowded number of boxing sanctioning bodies.