The Most Famous
BOXERS from Nigeria
Top 3
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Nigerian Boxers of all time. This list of famous Nigerian Boxers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Dick Tiger (1929 - 1971)
With an HPI of 46.65, Dick Tiger is the most famous Nigerian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages on wikipedia.
Richard Ihetu (August 14, 1929 – December 14, 1971), professionally known as Dick Tiger was a Nigerian professional boxer who held the undisputed middleweight and light-heavyweight championships. Tiger emigrated to Liverpool, England to pursue his boxing career and later to the United States. Tiger was Igbo and served as a Lieutenant in the Biafran army during the Nigerian Civil War, primarily training soldiers in hand-to-hand combat. Tiger was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991. The Ring magazine named him Fighter of the Year in 1962 and 1965, while the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) named him Fighter of the Year in 1962 and 1966. In 1996, Tiger was voted as one of the best boxers of the 1960s, The later in 1998, Tiger was put in the book of "Best boxers of the 20th Century". In 2002, Tiger was voted by The Ring magazine as the 31st greatest fighter of the last 80 years. His first world title win in 1962 was ranked the 15th most memorable moment in Nigerian sports history since 1960 by Premium Times in 2020, the highest ranked combat sports-related moment.
2. Samuel Peter (b. 1980)
With an HPI of 34.55, Samuel Peter is the 2nd most famous Nigerian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Samuel Okon Peter (born September 6, 1980) is a Nigerian professional boxer. He held the WBC heavyweight title in 2008, when he stopped Oleg Maskaev in six rounds. In his prime, he was known for his rivalry with the Klitschko brothers, having faced Wladimir twice (in 2005 and 2010) and Vitali once. Peter was named among the 20 greatest athletes in the history of independent Nigeria by The Punch in 2023, while his capturing of the WBC heavyweight title was ranked the 26th most memorable moment in independent Nigeria's sports history by Premium Times in 2020. He was ranked by The Ring among ten best heavyweights at the conclusion of a year from 2005 to 2008, reaching his highest ranking of world No.2 in 2007. Peter is known for his punching power and holds a 78.9% knockout-to-win ratio.
3. Peter Konyegwachie (b. 1965)
With an HPI of 23.89, Peter Konyegwachie is the 3rd most famous Nigerian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Peter Konyegwachie (MON born 26 November 1965 in Lagos) was a Nigerian boxer. He hails from Ogwashi-Uku. The town that also produced another sport (football) great, Austin "Jay Jay" Okocha. The town is the headquarters of Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria. He attended Adaigbo Secondary School. At the 1984 Summer Olympics he won Nigeria's first ever silver medal in the men's Featherweight (54–57 kg) category. Konyegwachie became professional in 1986 and won his first 15 fights prior to getting stopped by a journeyman in 1990. He retired after the bout at 15-1-0.
People
Pantheon has 3 people classified as Nigerian boxers born between 1929 and 1980. Of these 3, 1 (33.33%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Nigerian boxers include Samuel Peter. The most famous deceased Nigerian boxers include Dick Tiger, and Peter Konyegwachie. As of April 2024, 1 new Nigerian boxers have been added to Pantheon including Dick Tiger.
