BoxRec

Back in the early 2000s I was in my cabin working on a cruise ship & boxing was on one of the few channels (ESPN2) they had.

A future star named Oscar Diaz was fighting some weird looking redneck from Georgia who had been knocked out in one round by a Mexican journeyman.

That redneck schooled Diaz & went on a great run & then beat another hyped fighter named Courtney Burton, stopping him in the 12th of a great fight.

But that was the end of the miracle journey. Elder lost his next two fights & retired, after a 6 year career, with a record of 22(14)-3(3) & went on to start a church in Georgia.

He died this week from brain cancer, aged 46. RIP Champ.

Here's his crazy fight against Burton. In a weird coincidence, several years later I ended up working at this very casino.


https://www.BS.com/articles/eb ... -at-age-46

I really hope that at least ONE person watches this great fight.

What the f*ck? Out of the blue the other day I thought of this fight, and now I hear this guy has died? Terrible.

I 2nd Taansend's appeal that anyone who hasn't seen the Elder/Burton fight should indeed watch it. A truly great fight that most people didn't see.

Terrible news to see. Ebo Elder was a helluva action fighter in the Shobox/ESPN2 FNF era.

i watched all his fights that were on espn and show, funny looking dude, like a little elf/troll, but quite the character and loads of heart and fitness. his dad was his trainer and a character as well.

a good one to look at as a guy who got the most out of himself

tbh i thought he was older than 46 now, i didnt realize he was so young back then, maybe it was the high hairline

Thanks for posting this -- Ebo may not have been an all-time great, but he was incredibly entertaining and amazingly determined. ESPN FNF was such a great venue that highlighted a lot of these regional fighters and gave them the opportunity to elevate themselves into better paydays with good performances. These days, with so few televised fights, it would be hard for someone like Ebo to land a solid fight and launch that into a few solid pay-days.

Ebo's career ended on The Contender when he was beaten by another regional guy (Michael "No Joke" Stewart) who also elevated his career with solid FNF performances.