Ayub Kalule (born 6 January 1954) is a retired boxer from Uganda, who first came to prominence when he won the Amateur World Welterweight Title at the inaugural 1974 World Championships in Havana, Cuba. As a professional, he held the WBA and The Ring light middleweight titles from 1979 until 1981.

Ayub Kalule
Born (1954-01-06) 6 January 1954 (age 70)
NationalityUgandan
Other namesGentleman
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Reach73 in (185 cm)
StanceSouthpaw
Boxing record
Total fights50
Wins46
Wins by KO23
Losses4
Medal record
Men's Boxing
Representing  Uganda
World Amateur Championships
Gold medal – first place 1974 Havana Light Welterweight
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 1974 Christchurch Lightweight

Boxing career

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Born in Kampala, he began his professional boxing career in 1976 when he won a four-round decision over Kurt Hombach in Copenhagen, Denmark. Kalule would be based out of Denmark for the rest of his career. He then won 29 more victories, achieving 30 wins, 0 losses. Included in those victories were defeats of Alipata Korovou for the Commonwealth Middleweight Title and a 10-round decision of former U.S. olympic gold medalist Sugar Ray Seales.

On 24 October 1979, Kalule was in Akita, Japan to take on Masashi Kudo for the Lineal and WBA Junior middleweight titles. Kalule easily outboxed the champion and thus captured the coveted world championship crown.[1] He then successfully defended the title four times before taking on the legendary Sugar Ray Leonard on 25 June 1981 in the Houston Astrodome. A virtual unknown in the United States, Kalule was considered little more than a courier waiting to deliver the belt to Leonard. The fight proved much more difficult for Leonard as Kalule repeatedly landed straight lefts and fought on an almost even ground for the first five or six rounds. Slowly Leonard started to take control and in the 9th round ended the fight and Kalule's reign as WBA Champion.[2]

Kalule fought on until the beginning of 1986 and managed to win the European Middleweight Title and defend it successfully against future world champion Sumbu Kalambay. Prior to that, he received another shot at the WBA Jr Middleweight Title held at that time by Davey Moore. Kalule put up a very good fight, but again was KO'd, this time in the 10th round.[3] Ayub's career ended on 5 February 1986 when he lost the European Middleweight Title to Herol Graham. He finished his career with a very impressive record of 46–4 with 23 KOs.

Professional boxing record

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50 fights 46 wins 4 losses
By knockout 23 4
By decision 23 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
50 Loss 46–4 Herol Graham TKO 10 (12), 2:10 Feb 5, 1986 City Hall, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK Lost European middleweight title
49 Win 46–3 Sumbu Kalambay SD 12 Dec 19, 1985 Palazzo dello Sport, Ancona, Italy Retained European middleweight title
48 Win 45–3 Pierre Joly TKO 8 (12) Jun 20, 1985 Idraetshuset, Copenhagen, Denmark Won vacant European middleweight title
47 Win 44–3 Mauro Fernandes da Cruz TKO 4 (8) Mar 9, 1985 K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
46 Win 43–3 Lindell Holmes PTS 8 Nov 9, 1984 K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
45 Win 42–3 Wayne Caplette TKO 3 (8) Oct 5, 1984 Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark
44 Win 41–3 Jimmy Price TKO 1 (10) Apr 25, 1984 Alexandra Pavilion, Muswell Hill, London, England, UK
43 Loss 40–3 Mike McCallum RTD 7 (10), 3:00 Nov 13, 1982 Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
42 Loss 40–2 Davey Moore TKO 10 (15), 2:58 Jul 17, 1982 Ballys Park Place Hotel Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US For WBA junior-middleweight title
41 Win 40–1 Oscar Albarado TKO 2 (10) Apr 30, 1982 Brondby Hallen, Brondby, Denmark
40 Win 39–1 Jacques Chinon PTS 10 Feb 26, 1982 K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
39 Win 38–1 O'Dell Leonard PTS 8 Nov 13, 1981 Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark
38 Win 37–1 Andoni Amana PTS 10 Oct 9, 1981 K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
37 Loss 36–1 Sugar Ray Leonard KO 9 (15), 3:06 Jun 25, 1981 Astrodome, Houston, Texas, US Lost WBA and The Ring junior-middleweight titles
36 Win 36–0 Pat Hallacy PTS 10 Mar 5, 1981 Brondby Hallen, Brondby, Denmark
35 Win 35–0 Bushy Bester UD 15 Sep 6, 1980 Aarhus Stadion, Aarhus, Denmark Retained WBA and The Ring junior-middleweight titles
34 Win 34–0 Marijan Beneš UD 15 Jun 12, 1980 Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark Retained WBA and The Ring junior-middleweight titles
33 Win 33–0 Emiliano Villa RTD 11 (15), 3:00 Apr 17, 1980 Brondby Hallen, Brondby, Denmark Retained WBA and The Ring junior-middleweight titles
32 Win 32–0 Steve Gregory UD 15 Dec 6, 1979 Brondby Hallen, Brondby, Denmark Retained WBA and The Ring junior-middleweight titles
31 Win 31–0 Masashi Kudo UD 15 Oct 24, 1979 City Gymnasium, Akita City, Japan Won WBA and The Ring junior-middleweight titles
30 Win 30–0 David Love PTS 10 Sep 6, 1979 Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark
29 Win 29–0 Ray Hammond PTS 8 Jun 28, 1979 Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark
28 Win 28–0 Obdulio Rogelio Zarza PTS 10 May 27, 1979 Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark
27 Win 27–0 Monty Betham TKO 4 (10) Mar 15, 1979 Brondby Hallen, Brondby, Denmark
26 Win 26–0 Ho Joo KO 2 (10) Feb 15, 1979 Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark
25 Win 25–0 Kevin Finnegan UD 10 Dec 7, 1978 Idraetshuset, Copenhagen, Denmark
24 Win 24–0 Sugar Ray Seales MD 10 Nov 9, 1978 Brondby Hallen, Brondby, Denmark
23 Win 23–0 Reggie Ford KO 5 (15) Sep 14, 1978 Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark Retained Commonwealth middleweight title
22 Win 22–0 Milton Owens TKO 6 (10), 1:00 Aug 10, 1978 Glyngoere Hallen, Glyngoere, Denmark
21 Win 21–0 Al Korovou TKO 14 (15), 1:00 May 25, 1978 Brondby Hallen, Brondby, Denmark Won Commonwealth middleweight title
20 Win 20–0 Idrissa Konate TKO 7 (12) Apr 27, 1978 Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark
19 Win 19–0 Tsutomu Hagusa TKO 3 (10) Mar 16, 1978 Idraetshuset, Copenhagen, Denmark
18 Win 18–0 Johnny Baldwin PTS 10 Mar 2, 1978 Vejle, Denmark
17 Win 17–0 Jose Hernandez TKO 5 (10) Feb 9, 1978 Idraetshuset, Copenhagen, Denmark
16 Win 16–0 Rennie Pinder PTS 8 Jan 26, 1978 Chateau Neuf, Oslo, Norway
15 Win 15–0 Bonifacio Ávila TKO 4 (10) Jan 5, 1978 Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark
14 Win 14–0 Ralph Palladin PTS 10 Dec 8, 1977 Idraetshuset, Copenhagen, Denmark
13 Win 13–0 Miguel Ángel Castellini TKO 3 (10) Nov 3, 1977 Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark
12 Win 12–0 Alvin Anderson TKO 9 (10) Oct 6, 1977 Idraetshuset, Copenhagen, Denmark
11 Win 11–0 Rudy Robles PTS 10 Sep 8, 1977 Idraetshuset, Copenhagen, Denmark
10 Win 10–0 Elisha Obed PTS 10 Jun 2, 1977 Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark
9 Win 9–0 Jose Duran TKO 7 (10) Apr 28, 1977 Idraetshuset, Copenhagen, Denmark
8 Win 8–0 Aroldo Olivares TKO 6 (10) Mar 31, 1977 Idraetshuset, Copenhagen, Denmark
7 Win 7–0 Mimoun Mohatar PTS 10 Feb 24, 1977 Idraetshuset, Copenhagen, Denmark
6 Win 6–0 Damiano Lassandro TKO 3 (10) Jan 20, 1977 Idraetshuset, Copenhagen, Denmark
5 Win 5–0 Larry Paul KO 2 (10) Dec 9, 1976 Idraetshuset, Copenhagen, Denmark
4 Win 4–0 Gualberto Fernandez KO 1 (6) Nov 19, 1976 Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark
3 Win 3–0 Trevor Francis PTS 6 Oct 9, 1976 Forum, Copenhagen, Denmark
2 Win 2–0 Wayne Bennett KO 5 (6) Jun 3, 1976 Idraetshuset, Copenhagen, Denmark
1 Win 1–0 Kurt Hombach PTS 4 Apr 8, 1976 Forum, Copenhagen, Denmark

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Ayub Kalule - Lineal Junior Middleweight Champion". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
  2. ^ "Sugar Ray Leonard became boxing's only double title-holder Thursday..." United Press International. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Moore Stops Kalule in 10th to Keep Title". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
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Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Preceded by Commonwealth middleweight champion
25 May 1978 – 1978
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Tony Sibson
Vacant
Title last held by
Tony Sibson
EBU middleweight champion
20 June 1985 – 5 February 1986
Succeeded by
World boxing titles
Preceded by WBA super welterweight champion
24 October 1979 – 25 June 1981
Succeeded by
The Ring super welterweight champion
24 October 1979 – 25 June 1981