Franco Wanyama

Franco Wanyama
Franco Wanyama
	Franco and his students in 2013
Born	Franco Wanyama; 7 February 1968; Kampala, Uganda
Died	21 March 2019 (aged 51); Rugby, Warwickshire
Nationality	Ugandan
Other names	Thunderbird
	Statistics
Weight(s)	Middleweight Cruiserweight Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Reach	75 in (191 cm)
Stance	Orthodox
	Boxing record
Total fights	29
Wins	20
Wins by KO	7
Losses	7
Draws	2

Franco "Thunderbird" Wanyama (7 February 1968 - 21 March 2019^[1]) in Kampala, was a Ugandan amateur middleweight and professional cruiser/heavyweight boxer of the 1980s, '90s and 2000s. He was an amateur representative of Uganda at middleweight in the Boxing at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, losing to eventual bronze medal winner Chris Sande of Kenya, and as a professional won the BeNeLux heavyweight title, BeNeLux cruiserweight title, Commonwealth cruiserweight title, and World Boxing Federation (WBF) cruiserweight title, and was a challenger for the Commonwealth cruiserweight title against Chris Okoh, his professional fighting weight varied from 181 lb (82 kg; 12 st 13 lb), i.e. cruiserweight to 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb), i.e. heavyweight. Wanyama defeated notable fighters such as Jimmy Thunder, Carl Thompson and Johnny Nelson and was sparring partner to Vitali Klitschko & Wladimir Klitschko. He lived his last years in Rugby, Warwickshire, England and had 3 children, Shannon Wanyama, Nellie Wanyama and Wanga Wanyama.^[2]

Early life

Franco started boxing around the age of 6 after becoming curious of what was inside a local boxing gym.

Professional career

Franco made his professional debut on 25 December 1989 against Dutch fighter John Held (7-13-2) it ended a 6-round points draw. In 1990 he beat future world title holder Carl Thompson on points. In 1993 he won a bout against another future world champion, Johnny Nelson, who was disqualified for repeated holding. In 1995 he was matched with former world champion Thomas Hearns but the fight was called off at the last minute and Hearns was replaced by ranked Heavyweight Jimmy Thunder, Wanyama and gave away a 30 pounds in weight but still came away with a points victory.

Later years

After his retirement Franco worked as a sparring partner, notably with the Klitschko brothers. From 2007 he became a youth worker and boxing coach in Rugby, taking classes for the youth service whilst also being a coach at a local amateur boxing gym. On the 21st of March 2019 Franco died at his home in Rugby.^[3]

Professional boxing record

29 fights	20 wins	7 losses
By knockout	7	5
By decision	13	2
Draws	2

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
29	Win	20–7–2	Csaba Olah	TKO	3 (6)	2000-06-16	Ghent, Belgium
28	Win	19–7–2	Daniel Jerling	PTS	6	1999-10-15	Ghent, Belgium
27	Win	18–7–2	Geert Blieck	MD	6	1999-04-05	Ghent, Belgium
26	Win	17–7–2	Abdul Kadou	PTS	10	1997-12-25	Nakivubo Stadium, Kampala, Uganda
25	Loss	16–7–2	Dirk Wallyn	TKO	5 (8)	1996-12-25	Izegem, Belgium
24	Loss	16–6–2	Dirk Wallyn	TKO	7 (8)	1996-11-01	Izegem, Belgium
23	Loss	16–5–2	Garry Delaney	PTS	6	1996-02-06	Festival Hall, Basildon, England
22	Loss	16–4–2	Chris Okoh	TKO	8 (12)	1995-09-29	York Hall, Bethnal Green, England	For vacant Commonwealth (British Empire) Cruiserweight title.
21	Win	16–3–2	James Thunder	SD	10	1995-07-16	Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
20	Draw	15–3–2	Kalin Stoyanov	PTS	8	1994-04-02	De Haan, Belgium
19	Win	15–3–1	Tony Booth	TKO	2 (12)	1994-01-28	Waregem, Belgium	Won vacant Commonwealth (British Empire) Cruiserweight title.
18	Win	14–3–1	Bobbie Joe Edwards	PTS	8	1993-12-25	Izegem, Belgium
17	Win	13–3–1	Johnny Nelson	DQ	10 (12)	1993-10-01	Waregem, Belgium	Won WBF (Federation) Cruiserweight title. Nelson disqualified for repeated fouls.
16	Win	12–3–1	Daniel Krumov	TD	2 (6)	1993-04-23	Waregem, Belgium
15	Win	11–3–1	John Held	UD	10	1993-01-29	Waregem, Belgium	Won BeNeLux Cruiserweight title.
14	Win	10–3–1	Tony Booth	PTS	6	1992-12-25	Izegem, Belgium
13	Win	9–3–1	Faustino Gonzalez	TKO	3 (6)	1992-11-01	Izegem, Belgium
12	Win	8–3–1	Vladimir Dyukarev	TKO	1 (6)	1992-10-02	Waregem, Belgium
11	Loss	7–3–1	John Emmen	KO	10 (10)	1991-06-24	Weenahal, Rotterdam, Netherlands	For BeNeLux Heavyweight title.
10	Win	7–2–1	Ramon Voorn	PTS	10	1991-02-18	Sportcentrum Valkencourt, Valkenswaard, Netherlands
9	Win	6–2–1	Boubakar Sanogo	PTS	8	1990-12-25	Izegem, Belgium
8	Loss	5–2–1	Norbert Ekassi	KO	2 (8)	1990-10-13	Ghent, Belgium
7	Win	5–1–1	Ian Bulloch	TKO	5 (6)	1990-05-12	Waasmunster, Belgium
6	Win	4–1–1	Carl Thompson	PTS	6	1990-04-21	Sint-Amandsberg, Belgium
5	Win	3–1–1	Mohamed Zaoui	TKO	3 (6)	1990-04-07	Carvin, France
4	Loss	2–1–1	Christophe Girard	PTS	8	1990-03-16	Blois, France
3	Win	2–0–1	Serge Bolivard	PTS	6	1990-02-10	Roeselare, Belgium
2	Win	1–0–1	Abner Blackstock	TKO	4 (6)	1990-01-12	Waregem, Belgium
1	Draw	0–0–1	John Held	PTS	6	1989-12-25	Izegem, Belgium	Professional debut