BoxRec

For some reason this guy's name came into my head today. I remember him coming over from Africa to fight a couple of up and coming British heavyweights in the 1980s. He was slow and ponderous but his name always held an attraction for me. Does anyone else remember him?

On checking his record I was surprised to see that he passed away at the age of 36. I have no idea what happened to him.

Some of the guys he fought had great names: Black Tiger, Ringo Starr, Captain Cleopas Marvel, Kid Power, Jukebook Timebomb, Mary(?) Konate, Bonyongo Destroyer and Sam Sithole. He even fought a guy called George Foreman (no, not that one).

If anyone has any news on Proud or how he died, I'd be grateful for them...

tolstoy wrote:
Some of the guys he fought had great names: Black Tiger, Ringo Starr, Captain Cleopas Marvel, Kid Power, Jukebook Timebomb, Mary(?) Konate, Bonyongo Destroyer and Sam Sithole.

Sounds like a gay porn film or something!

I remember him contesting the Commonwealth Heavyweight title over here, can't remember who against though, could have been Mason or Notice or Williams.

If I remember correctly, Kilimanjaro once came over to England for a fight with Lennox Lewis and refused to undergo an H.I.V. test.
The rumour was that he was indeed H.I.V. positive and maybe that's what lead to his death.

He had a decent ten-rounder over here with Hughroy Currie. I remember Kiliminjaro did nothing early on and a peak Currie, the reigning British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion, built up an unassailable lead. Incredibly, Currie then faded alarmingly and barely survived the ninth and 10th rounds.
British referee Harry Gibbs, brilliant at bringing out the best in fat heavyweights, admitted afterwards he had gone over to Kiliminjaro's corner at the end of the eighth and said: "You can do a little bit better than that for me, can't you?"
"Yes, sir," replied the big African, who then nearly knocked out Currie.

Bonyongo Destroyer!!! What a name - deserved to win a title just for his name alone - WBU maybe.

Here's his record:

1989 - Kilimanjaro L KO 4
1991 - James Oyebola L KO 1


:)

Perfect for Audley's next ESPN fight maybe?

Sorry, duplicate post.

Kilimanjaro passed away due to HIV.

Speaking of fighters who contracted H.I.V does anybody no the status of the guy who beat Colin McMillan, the Columbian fighter named Palacio (can't remember his first name). He was strong, remember it was supposed to be him vs John Davidson - then came the result of the test. Who came in at 48 hrs notice ....... Steve Robinson

If you also remember the guy's brother Wilson faught and lost (controversially - although I thought the right guy won) to Barry Jones for the vacant WBO championship.

stujones wrote:Speaking of fighters who contracted H.I.V does anybody no the status of the guy who beat Colin McMillan, the Columbian fighter named Palacio (can't remember his first name). He was strong, remember it was supposed to be him vs John Davidson - then came the result of the test. Who came in at 48 hrs notice ....... Steve Robinson

If you also remember the guy's brother Wilson faught and lost (controversially - although I thought the right guy won) to Barry Jones for the vacant WBO championship.

Palacios had nothing to lose after he contracted HIV and was convicted of cocaine smuggling and jailed for life. I believe he's still alive in jail. At least, I haven't heard that he's dead.

he did indeed refuse a fight with lennox lewis because he wouldnt submi the results of his aids test. mike simwelu was brough in instead.

proud kilimajaro also lost to my icon, the legendary james 'broad axe' broad.

Neil (The Bounty) Hunter wrote:he did indeed refuse a fight with lennox lewis because he wouldnt submi the results of his aids test. mike simwelu was brough in instead.

proud kilimajaro also lost to my icon, the legendary james 'broad axe' broad.

Sadly, the former NABF heavyweight champion passed away at just 43 on November 20, 2001. There was no fanfare, no bells tolled for a man who gave much of his life his life to the sport he loved. Many will remember Broad from for his amateur kayo over Marvis Frazier in the first round in the Olympic Trials back in 1980.
The highlight of Broad's professional career came in August 1984 when he won the NABF Heavyweight Title against Eddie Gregg, who was stopped in the eighth round. After that big win, he didn't fare so well against other top contenders such as Tim Witherspoon, Tony Tucker, Greg Page, Francesco Damiani and Razor Ruddock.
From an unconfirmed source, Broad was homeless, broke, brain damaged and lived in a bus shelter somewhere in Las Vegas before his death.
He also had a drink problem.

yes matey i know all about james broads life and it was me who brought his death to everyones attention in boxing forums.

the above article you quoted was only written after my mate ex-champ greg page asked his friend, aboxing writer, to let people know broad was dead.

he was penniless and brain damaged in vegas, living downa nd out, but did get home to carolina in the end.

i have some very interesting stories on broad i might print them up.

ps those losses described above came after broad became an obese alcoholic.

before he lost his focus he was sharp talented and hard punching. bvery difficult to beat. got misled by craig payne and the boys. he looked very impressive when he knocked out bonecrusher smith.

Neil (The Bounty) Hunter wrote:yes matey i know all about james broads life and it was me who brought his death to everyones attention in boxing forums.

the above article you quoted was only written after my mate ex-champ greg page asked his friend, aboxing writer, to let people know broad was dead.

he was penniless and brain damaged in vegas, living downa nd out, but did get home to carolina in the end.

i have some very interesting stories on broad i might print them up.

ps those losses described above came after broad became an obese alcoholic.

before he lost his focus he was sharp talented and hard punching. bvery difficult to beat. got misled by craig payne and the boys. he looked very impressive when he knocked out bonecrusher smith.

It would be very interesting to read your stories on Broad.

i dont have them to hand. their on a disc at home rightnow but very interesting personal accounts on james from his last few years, as well as his misgivings etc. guys like greg page and others who told me some personal stuff.

speaking of page his wife told me some pretty shocking stuff about mike tyson and gregs house and daughter in vegas years ago but that may have to wait for another day.

PS i know we've got totally off topic but if james were transported from 1982 to today he wouldbe a very difficult man to deal with. he has the right size frame and power (6'4'', 230ibs in shape) to compete with anyone, plus unlike todays heavies he had a ROCK jaw, plus he was nimble and could move and box.

trust me if you see those early tapes of james he really was excellent but it didnt take long before he was misled and gave boxing a half arsed effort and he went down hill.

it was all over really in 1985 when he showed up at a beastly 260 ibs and predictably got waxed in 2 rds by an in shape and highly focused tim witherspoon.

what a sad waste, never even fought for the title.