BoxRec

TKO 3 to Norbett Akassi. Does anyone know what actually happened here?

I ask because a few years back on a forum some American twat kept on trying to wind me up saying Nelson was useless and a fake and that "Akassi KHTFO" blah blah blah.

I knew there was no way this little twerp had seen the fight he'd just checked Nelson's record, but because I hadn't seen it either I was in a weak position, particulary as I was remarking about his solid chin.

So what went down in France that night?

i asked a similar question on eastside but didnt get a proper answer....

I heard it was a body shot though, cannot remember who told me that

It was a genuine stoppage. That's all I know.

I have got the third round on tape. This is from memory: "Nelson is under pressure in a corner, and goes down from a right hand high on the head".

Stoppage was okay.

Søren Woller

Nelson certainly is an amazing character, i didn't realise he fought Corrie Sanders and Henry Akinwande. I hope he gets a superfight before hre retires.

I agree. He deserves a big fight, as he openly states that to him, boxing is just his line of work. I'd fancy his chances against any of the other belt holders.

i met johnny nelson in the corn exchange in leeds, and let me tell you, the guy is frickin massive.

absolutely enourmous, i dont know what his official height is, but he looked the kind of size you'd expect to see if you met henry akinwande or a guy like that.

looked so young too, the only thing that gave away his age was his wife, a white woman who looked in her late 30s. johnny himself easily looked a decade younger.

Ive never actually seen him fight but ive heard he runs alot and tags his way to boring decisions over 12. Would this be right or was this person just talking crap ?

{amateur} wrote:Ive never actually seen him fight but ive heard he runs alot and tags his way to boring decisions over 12. Would this be right or was this person just talking crap ?

It has been known, but he's also capable of turning in classy boxing displays, has a good chin and can punch a bit. When he's on (Vs Carl Thompson), I like him a lot. When he really trys to do as little as possible to win (Vs Guillermo Jones) I'll go and have a beer or, if there's a big American card on later, get some kip in.

overhand_right wrote:looked so young too, the only thing that gave away his age was his wife, a white woman who looked in her late 30s. johnny himself easily looked a decade younger.

His wife does look old, she was on tv during the Petkovic fight.

I think Johnny has got bags of talent. People just can't forget the disastrous performances of over a decade ago now.

He is a very big lad. Shook his hand, as custom dictates - he has the biggest hands I've ever seen and a little backhander would probably spark me!

thoght his last performance was awesome (petkovic in germany) but it needed to be after the robbery the fight before. (jones) which was a total robbery in my view.
But of late he hasnt been a crowd pleaser and can be very negative biut always find him very astute and pleasant to listen to when commentating.
Seems like a nice bloke.

Ekassi's all-out pressure got to ill-conditioned Nelson and stoppage was proper as nelson looked neither capable nor willing to go on...

It was kinda surprising to see him crumble like that so early in the fight as he completely dominated early proceedings and had Ekassi down earlier.

But as said, even a hurt Ekassi never let Johnny rest a second and Nelson's conditioning blew early. Fight was shown in Eurosport and I have it on tape.

Nelson is a massive motherfucker, saw him at the Woods fight in Sheffield, he's a little shorter than me, but his shoulders and hands are huge, how he makes cruiserweight is beyond me, not so much now, but back before it was 200.

I'm an inch taller, and admittedly probably 10 lbs overweight, and nowhere near as big framed as our man Johnny and even though I've shed 20 lbs since Christmas, I'm 189, and that's with far less muscle tissue than a lean machine like Nelson.

I can understand someone like Hatton who appears to be a naturally flabby guy being able to make weight and come in so big, but Nelson come fightnight is always as fit as a butchers dog. How the hell does he do it?

Nelson still makes his weight limit after all these years because, like a certain Mr Hopkins, he is never out of the gym.

What a pro.

it cannot be easy for him, remember when he was due to fight for his WBO cruiser title but on the Thursday it fell though and he fought for the Heavy title against Vassilev.

The cruiserweight fight was only cancelled late Wednesday or Thursday yet Johnny weighed in at at 14st 9 (i think, maybe more) on the friday.

so that gives us an indication of his "walking around weight"....


I would say Johnny puts on over a stone after the weigh in so enter the ring close to 15 stone... heavier than Holyfield was when he won the heavy weight crown and not much lighter than the likes of Herbie Hide, Corrie Saunders


here is a shocking bit of info for you, Johnny turned pro at 19 and was 170lbs for his first fight!!!!!!!!

Makes you wonder how Jirov is going to fair against Mesi on saturday. Seems many are giving him next no chance but you just never quite know how effective a cruiserweight might be until you've seen him at the higher weight. And Mesi is hardly the second coming.

Kilburn: Jirov is a pretty small cruiser though.

At the 1996 olympics he won the 81kg gold which meant he was weighing in on the day at 12st 10. He was 22 at the time so fully grown, given you weigh in a day before as a pro it wouldnt have been too difficult for him to fight pro at light heavy one would have thought.

The two other medallists who are now pro, Tarver and Ulrich both fight at light heavy as pros.....

Yeah I suppose I was always surprised at how small Jirov was each time I saw him. He's not the monster his records makes him out to be. I hope he can get through the first 2 rounds against Mesi though and make it interesting.

Petu v.d. Pajm wrote:Ekassi's all-out pressure got to ill-conditioned Nelson and stoppage was proper as nelson looked neither capable nor willing to go on...

It was kinda surprising to see him crumble like that so early in the fight as he completely dominated early proceedings and had Ekassi down earlier.

But as said, even a hurt Ekassi never let Johnny rest a second and Nelson's conditioning blew early. Fight was shown in Eurosport and I have it on tape.

Ekassi looked the business around the time he stopped Nelson. It is always a mystery to me why he didn't make it.

Well, Ekassi got caught and ousted in a round by a dangerous if erratic puncher in Aleksandr Gurov. That result was likely a factor in depression which caught moody Ekassi soon afterwards and ended with him putting his fist through window glass, cutting a vein and bleeding to a death.

Petu v.d. Pajm wrote:Well, Ekassi got caught and ousted in a round by a dangerous if erratic puncher in Aleksandr Gurov. That result was likely a factor in depression which caught moody Ekassi soon afterwards and ended with him putting his fist through window glass, cutting a vein and bleeding to a death.

Oh, yes. He had a domestic with his wife, she locked him out, and in an attempt to get back in, he cut his artery and bled to death in the snow. What a cheap end...

And the moral is..........

Always carry your door keys.

steve689 wrote:Nelson certainly is an amazing character, i didn't realise he fought Corrie Sanders and Henry Akinwande. I hope he gets a superfight before hre retires.

Maybe Bennie can confirm this but I'm sure Nelson took the Akinwande fight on about 10 days notice. It was a very dull fight I recall reading in Boxing Monthly.

nelson's had an amazing career, he's been a pro since 1986 which in sporting terms is almost light years ago its a shame he is so negative cos when he fights like he's capable of fighting he can be brilliant like he was against carl thompson.