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FORMER NIGERIAN COMMONWEALTH BOXING GOLD MEDALLIST, DAVID DEFIAGBON IS DEAD

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David Defiagbon, a boxer who won gold for Nigeria at the Auckland 1990 Olympics and also featured for the country at the Barcelona 1992 Olympics has died. According to Chronicle Herald of Canada, Defiagbon died of heart complications in Las Vegas, United States on Saturday.

He was aged 48. Defiagbon after Barcelona 1992 Olympics where he lost in the first round of Light Middleweight category to America’s Raul Marquez, emigrated to Canada and won a silver medal in heavyweight category of boxing for Canada at the Atlanta ’96 Olympics.

According to the newspaper, the boxing community in Canada was still mourning the boxer’s death.

“It’s a shock,” said Lower Sackville’s Wayne Gordon, who along with his late father Taylor, were instrumental in bringing Defiagbon to Canada. They coached him as an amateur.

Shortly after Auckland 1990 Commonwealth Games, Defiagbon reportedly met Taylor Gordon, then the former national team coach of Canada, and the wheels were in motion to get him to emigrate to Canada. But it wasn’t a smooth transition.

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“My dad first met David in 1989 when he took the national team for a tour of Africa,” Wayne Gordon recalled in an interview by Chronicle Herald of Canada. “David was very charismatic.

“Dad ran into David again in Barcelona in 1992. David told a compelling story about the adversities he went through with the Nigerian boxing team. He pleaded with us to help him come to Canada. It was heart-wrenching.

Another Canadian newspaper, Toronto Sun gave the account thus: “Whenever Gordon and Defiagbon ran into each other over the next few years at various tournaments, Defiagbon would plead with Coach Gordon to take him to Canada.

Finally, at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, the Nigerian boxer saw Taylor Gordon at the athlete’s village, dropped to his knees and begged him to take him to Canada.

“There must have been 200 people there and all of a sudden I have this 6-foot-5 guy grabbing me around the legs and begging for my help,” Gordon told the Toronto Sun’s Jim O’Leary in 1996. “He had tears running down his face.”

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The former Canadian navy man came through, arranging Defiagbon’s passage to Canada, where he moved in with Wayne Gordon and his family in Halifax. Defiagbon received his Canadian citizenship in time to compete for the Great White North at the 1996 Olympics”.

Wayne Gordon in his account to Chronicle Herald continues: “We sent money over to him to buy an airline ticket and more or less escape from where he was,” Gordon added. “He got caught and (was) thrown in jail.

 

“We got word back so we ended up sending more money to bribe the guards to let him out of jail, get to the airport and escape Nigeria. And he did. He ended up living at my house for almost a year. David became a part of our family.”

For three years, the Gordons worked to get Defiagbon his Canadian citizenship so he could fight for his new home.

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Defiagbon trained at the Gordons’ Citadel club and became a household name with his silver-medal showing at the ’96 Olympics. After losing to Cuba’s Felix Savon in the gold medal match, Defiagbon turned pro and moved west to join Sawridge Enterprises of Slave Lake, Alta. He eventually settled in Las Vegas.

Nicknamed ‘The Dream,’ Defiagbon won his first 21 pro bouts. In his 21st victory, the then-six–foot–five, 226–pound Defiagbon defeated Ron Guerrero on a fifth–round knockout on June 12, 2004 in Bermuda. He claimed the WBA Fedecentro title with the win and moved into the WBA’s top–10. That would be the pinnacle of his pro career.

He lost his next two bouts, including a TKO loss to Juan Carlos Gomez on Jan. 15, 2005. At the age of 33, it would be Defiagbon’s last professional fight.

“I was looking at pictures today of him having Christmas suppers with us, pictures with my kids,” Gordon said. “It’s really too bad.

Canadian newspaper, Toronto Sun recalled a controversial bout that Defiagbon had at the Atlanta ’96 Olympics.  He had qualified for the medal round under controversial circumstances as Frenchman Christophe Mendy as disqualified for hitting Defiagbon ‘below the belt’.

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Defiagbon advanced to the medal round. But TV replays showed that Mendy’s blow appeared to land on Defiagbon’s upper thigh. Defiagbon rolled around the ring in apparent agony until the referee stopped the fight and a furious Mendy was disqualified

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David Defiagbon, in his silver medal winning encounter at Atlanta ’96 Olympics

To his credit, the Nigerian-born Defiagbon fought valiantly in the semi-final to defeat American Nate Jones to qualify for the gold medal match, where he lost to Cuban legend Felix Savon. Defiagbon went on to enjoy a solid pro career (21-2 12KOs) and remains the last Canadian to win an Olympic boxing medal.

It was former world light heavyweight champion Montell Griffin, who trained with Defiagbon, announced the fighter’s passing on his Facebook account. Mandy Evans, who has a daughter with Defiagbon, confirmed the boxer died last Saturday, adding that a service will be held on December 8 in Las Vegas.

Defiagbon’s former coach Wayne Gordon, who had kept in touch with his fighter over the years, was supposed to meet up with Defiagbon in Las Vegas in May of 2017, the week of the Canelo Alverez-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight, but after arriving in Nevada, couldn’t reach the fighter.

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“He had told me before that his life was not the best,” Gordon said. “He got involved in drugs and alcohol and the night life where he was working as security guard. But the last time I talked to him, everything was sort of good. He said, ‘I got my life straightened out, I’m not drinking anymore, the party scene is behind me.’ I couldn’t wait to see him.”

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Boxing

Trump’s US arrests Mexican boxer, Julio Cesar Chavez, seeks to deport him

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Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. enters the ring before his fight against Jake Paul at Honda Center in Anaheim, California, U.S. June 28, 2025. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images via REUTERS 

U.S. immigration authorities have arrested Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in Los Angeles and plan to deport him, they said on Thursday, just days after he lost a high-profile bout to American rival Jake Paul.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Chavez was determined to be in the country illegally last week after he made fraudulent statements on a 2024 application for permanent residence. He is married to a U.S. citizen, it said.

Michael Goldstein, a lawyer for Chavez, said more than two dozen immigration agents arrested the boxer at his home in the Studio City area of Los Angeles on Wednesday.

“The current allegations are outrageous and appear to be designed as a headline to terrorize the community,” Goldstein said.

Homeland Security said that the 39-year-old boxer, son of Mexican world champion fighter Julio Cesar Chavez, is suspected of ties to Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, which Washington has designated a foreign terrorist organization.

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Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. speaks at press conference in anticipation of his fight against Jake Paul at Avalon Hollywood Theater. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images/File Photo

His wife, Frida Munoz Chavez, was previously married to the son of former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison. The son, Edgar, was assassinated in 2008.

Chavez is the target of a Mexican arrest warrant on allegations of involvement in organized crime and firearms trafficking, DHS said.

In Mexico, Chavez’ family said in a statement they “fully trust in his innocence.”

Chavez lost to influencer-turned-boxer Paul, 28, last weekend before a sold-out crowd in Anaheim, California, in a unanimous decision after 10 rounds.

He was allowed to enter the United States temporarily in early January under former President Joe Biden, DHS said. He had previously overstayed a tourist visa, it said.

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The agency said Chavez was convicted in Los Angeles in 2024 on weapons charges. Goldstein denied he was convicted, saying he pleaded not guilty and was granted mental health diversion which will result in dismissal of the charges.

Chavez won the WBC middleweight championship in 2011, but lost the title the next year.

His career has been overshadowed by controversies including a suspension after testing positive for a banned substance in 2009 and a fine and suspension after testing positive for marijuana in 2013.

His record stands at 54 wins, six losses and one draw, with 34 knockouts.

Reporting by Brendan O’Brien and Bhargav Acharya, Lizbeth Diaz, Angelica Medina, Diego Ore and Kylie Madry in Mexico City, Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bill Berkrot

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-Reuters

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Pacquiao coming out of retirement to face Barrios in title fight

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 Antony Joshua v Francis Ngannou - Weigh-in - BLVD World, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - March 7, 2024 Manny Pacquiao poses ahead of the weigh-in Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge/File Photo 

 Manny Pacquiao will come out of retirement to face Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight championship on July 19 in Las Vegas, the 46-year-old Filipino boxer said on Wednesday.

Pacquiao is the only boxer to win world championships in a record eight weight divisions while he was also the oldest welterweight world champion in history at the age of 40 in 2019.

A Filipino senator from 2016 to 2022, Pacquiao had retired from boxing in 2021 while he also ran for president in 2022.

“I’m back. On July 19, I return to the ring to face WBC Welterweight Champion Mario Barrios at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Let’s make history,” Pacquiao wrote on Instagram.

The southpaw, who has 62 wins, eight losses and two draws in a 72-fight career, was also elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2025.

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Barrios, a Mexican-American boxer, has 29 wins in 32 bouts, winning 18 by knockout and losing twice.

-Reuters

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Autopsy on dead Nigerian boxer to be conducted on Wednesday

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The body of Segun Olanrewaju, the Nigerian boxer who slumped and died in the ring in Ghana on Saturday is still in a mortuary in Ghana. The President of the Nigerian Boxing Board of Control (NBB of C), Dr Rafiu Oladipo, informed Sports Village Square that an autopsy will be conducted on Wednesday.

He said that the NBB of C is closely monitoring the events in Ghana, even as the Director General of the National Sports Commission, Bukola Olopade has asked for updates on the sad incident.

On Monday, a delegation of the NBB of C visited the family of the late boxer in Sango Otta in Ogun State. Oladipo said he was still in shock at the death of the boxer who he considered fit having fought last December 29.

He revealed that one of the members of the Nigerian delegation to Ghana stayed behind to follow up on the autopsy.

He narrated that the late boxer took part on Thursday in the mandatory weigh-in which is normally conducted 24 hours before a fight. Additionally, a medical check-up is also to be conducted.

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“But in this instance, there was no medical check. On this ground, Oladipo blamed the Ghana Boxing Authority.

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