On this day 10 December 1988 (Exactly 31 years ago today) Ghana’s Azumah Nelson successfully defended his WBC super featherweight title in Ghana.
Nelson 128 lbs beat Sidnei Dal Rovere 129 lbs by KO at 2:04 in round 3 of 12. Sidnei Dal Rovere was knocked down in the 2nd round.
Bout Summary
Date: 1988-12-10
Location: Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana
Referee: Rudy Ortega
Judge: Kamel Youssef
Judge: Rolando Barrovecchio
WBC World super featherweight title
On this day 10 December 2002 (Exactly 17 years ago today) The Black Queens of Ghana forced a bitter pill down the throat of the Super Falcons of Nigeria to concede their first defeat since the inception of the biennial Women African Cup of Nations Championship.
The lone goal victory was a sweet revenge for the Queens who had fallen prey to the Falcons since the competition began. Skipper Alberta Sackey fetched the historic goal for the Queens to silence a vociferous crowd at Warri.
It was one match that the Falcons failed to live up to their pre- match hype and bluff; and could hardly find their rhythm through out the 90 minutes of play.
Angered fans nearly vented their spleen on the poor Nigerian ladies but for the timely intervention of security personnel who men fired warning shots to scare off the fans.
The match was scrappy especially in the first 30 minutes as the teams resorted to a typical British system – the kick-and-run style thereby depriving the fans of the free flowing African style of play. The Falcons who were fired up by their drum beating fans came into the picture after the half hour mark and forced goalkeeper Memunata Sulemana to save two quick corner kick.
Dribbling wizard Adjoa Bayor, who constantly remained a victim of rough play initiated a solo move, gave Alberta Sackey a neat pass which she expertly lobbed over on rushing Opara Ogochi, a second choice goalkeeper for the Falcons in the 34th minute.
On this day 10 December 1968 (Exactly 51 years ago today) Undefeated Joe Frazier retained his share of the world heavyweight title by hammering and chopping his way to a lopsided decision over awkward but bull strong Oscar Bonavena of Argentina in a foul-packed 15-rounder at the Spectrum.
The 3-1 favored Philadelphian hit the 26-year-old South American with everything he had throughout the scrap but couldn’t drop the strong-jawed, bloodied challenger who went the limit with Frazier for the second time.
Frazier, 203 pounds to Bonavena’s 207, opened cuts over both of Bonavena’s eyes, on the bridge of his nose and raised lumps on Oscar’s face with his relentless pounding. …
Bonavena, fighting most of the way with his back to the ropes and his hands held high in a peek-a-boo defense, absorbed a fierce pounding to the head and body as he apparently waited to get home one big bomb. He never came close.
The clumsy, muscular Argentine was warned for low blows in four rounds—the third, eighth, 10th and 12th, and he lost the eighth by penalty from the referee. … The flat-footed challenger fought back only in flurries until late in the fight.
He kept trying to nail Joe with a big punch but he was wild most of the time and when he did land a good punch, it didn’t seem to bother the champion.
Bout Summary
Date: 1968-12-10
Location: Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Referee: Joe Sweeney 70-67
Judge: Dave Beloff 72-64
Judge: Nate Lopinson 74-64
Unofficial AP scorecard: 72-63 Frazier
Unofficial Ring Magazine scorecard – 71-64 Frazier
NYSAC World Heavyweight Title (2nd defense by Frazier)
On this day 10 December 1983 (Exactly 36 years ago today) Martina Navratilova won 8th career Grand Slam singles event after beating Kathy Jordan of the US 6-2, 7-6 in the Australian open final
On this day 10 December 2006 (Exactly 13 years ago today) British Broadcasting Corporation gave Swedish tennis icon Björn Borg a Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented by Boris Becker