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.

Friday Ahunanya
Born
Friday Chinedu Ahunanya

(1971-11-19) 19 November 1971 (age 52)
Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Other namesThe 13th
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights36
Wins24
Wins by KO13
Losses8
Draws3
No contests1

Amateur career edit

Professional career edit

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 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 by unanimous decision.

Professional boxing record edit

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 03/03/2000   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 edit

  1. ^ "Cris Arreola unsatisfied against Friday Ahunanya, but wins big". ESPN.com. July 10, 2011. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  2. ^ "BoxRec". boxrec.com.

External links edit