Legendary Nigerian boxer, Obisia Nwakpa, has died at the age of 75 after battling with illness.
Nwakpa’s death was confirmed by Nigeria Boxing Board of Control (NBB of C) president Rafiu Ladipo in an exclusive chat with Completesports.com.
It was gathered that Nwakpa passed away on the morning of Tuesday, June 3, 2025 and his body has been moved to the mortuary.
“This is another great loss to Nigeria and his death is something one did not expect now,” Ladipo said.
“Nwakpa was a Nigerian who gave his all to serve this country in the amateur and professional category, he also went further to coach the Nigerian national team.
“Obisia Nwakpa was an African champion, he was a Commonwealth champion and had a shot at the world title.
“He was illustrious and dedicated Nigerian who deserve to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Nigeria, whenever he fought we were always happy.”
Also Read: Friendly: NFF Commends Ogun Governor On Monetary Gifts To Falcons, Lionesses
Nwankpa represented Nigeria at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany and the 1973 All-Africa Games in Lagos, where he competed in the light-welterweight category and won a gold medal.
He won a gold medal at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand.
As a professional boxer, Nwakpa was a former Nigerian National Lightweight Champion, African Boxing Union (ABU) Lightweight Champion, and Commonwealth Lightweight Champion.
He was also ranked as the number one contender for the World Boxing Council (WBC) Light-Welterweight Title.
After his illustrious career, he served as head coach of the Nigerian boxing team and led them to the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
According to Fight Gist Media, who met with the legendary boxer on September 26, 2024, Nwakpa had been battling with dementia and other health issues.
Fight Gist Media dislcosed that Nwankpa, was on a wheelchair and was unable to speak due to the dementia, and his daughter had to speak on his behalf, explaining that he had severe memory loss and could no longer recognize or remember people or events.
By James Agberebi
