Izu Ugonoh


Izuagbe Ugonoh is a Polish professional boxer and former kickboxer, who competes in the heavyweight division. He is a graduate of the Jędrzej Śniadecki University School of Physical Education and Sport in Gdańsk.

Early life

Izuagbe was born to Nigerian parents in the Polish city of Szczecin. He graduated from the Jędrzej Śniadecki University School of Physical Educations and Sport in Gdańsk.

Kickboxing career

He trained kick boxing at Gdańsk club GKSK Corpus. Due to his similarity in appearance and fighting style he is sometimes called the Polish Remy Bonjasky. He has also been inspired by Gökhan Saki.
In 2009, in the Austrian city of Villach, he won the Kickboxing World Championships gold medal in K-1 Rules to 91 kg, defeating Vladimir Mineev. In 2010, he became European champion in the same formula in Baku. He met the local Zamig Athakishiyev in the final.

Professional boxing career

Early career

On 16 October 2010, he made his professional debut as a boxer in Legionowo, beating Igoris Papunia from Lithuania by first round knockout. He fought his second professional fight on 20 November 2010, in a show in Nysa, during which he defeated Pavel Habra by technical KO in the first round. Ugonoh’s first fight of 2011 was against Rad Rashid on the 2 April. Ugonoh won the bout by unanimous decision over four rounds. Ugonoh went on to gain five stoppage wins by the end of 2012. He fought once in 2013, defeating Lukasz Rusiewicz by unanimous decision in a six round bout. Ugonoh also fought once in 2014 knocking out Junior Maletino Lakopo in two rounds.
Ugonoh next fought on the 5 March 2015, against Thomas Peato. Ugonoh won the bout by second round knockout. He went on to gain wins over Julius Long and Will Quarrie before facing Ibrahim Labaran for the interim WBA Oceania and WBO Africa heavyweight titles. Ugonoh won the fight by first round knockout. He also got a first round knockout win against Vicente Sandez in December 2015. Ugonoh’s first fight of 2016 was against Ricardo Humberto Ramirez, which he won by knockout in the fourth round. Ugonoh next fought on the 1 October, knocking out Gregory Tony in two rounds to pick up the vacant IBF Mediterranean heavyweight title.

Ugonoh vs Breazeale

On the 25 February 2017, Ugonoh faced former world title challenger Dominic Breazeale on the under card of Deontay Wilder vs Gerald Washington, in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. In a back and forth fight which saw both men hit the canvas, Breazeale came out on top after he dropped Ugonoh through the ropes in the fifth round. The fights' third round won the round of the year from The Ring Magazine.

Career from 2018

After losing to Breazeale in 2017, Ugonoh next returned to the ring on the 25 May 2018. Ugonoh face Fred Kassi in a ten round bout, winning the fight by stoppage after Kassi was retired on his stool at the end of the second round.

Personal life

Ugonoh also played a wrestling cameo in the Polish movie Afonia and the bees directed by Jan Jakub Kolski.
He calls himself a "black Pole" and says that he proudly represents Poland on the international arena. He often jokes that when he looks into a mirror, he "doesn't know what happened", referring to his skin color as atypical for ethnic Poles, a white ethnic group.
His sister, Osuenhe "Osi" Ugonoh, works as a professional model, and is known for winning Poland's 4th edition of Top Model reality television series in 2014.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
20Loss18–2 Łukasz RóżańskiKO4, 2:276 Jul 2019 Stadion Miejski, Rzeszów, Poland
19Win18–1 Fred KassiRTD2, 3:0025 May 2018Stadion Narodowy, Warsaw, Poland.png" />
18Loss17–1 Dominic BreazealeTKO5 , 0:5025 Feb 2017Legacy Arena, Birmingham, Alabama, USA.png" />
17Win17–0 Grégory TonyTKO2 , 2:2601 Oct 2016Vodafone Events Centre, Auckland, New Zealand.png" />Won vacant IBF Mediterranean heavyweight title
16Win16–0 Ricardo Humberto RamírezKO4, 1:4721 Jul 2016Horncastle Arena, Christchurch, New Zealand.png" />Retained WBO Africa heavyweight title
15Win15–0 Vicente SandezKO1, 1:1105 Dec 2015Claudelands Arena, Hamilton, New Zealand.png" />Retained interim WBO Africa heavyweight title
14Win14–0 Ibrahim LabaranTKO1, 2:3815 Oct 2015Trusts Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand.png" />Won interim WBA Oceania & WBO Africa heavyweight titles
13Win13–0 Will QuarrieKO2, 2:1401 Aug 2015Stadium Southland, Invercargill, New Zealand.png" />
12Win12–0 Julius LongUD813 Jun 2015Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North, New Zealand.png" />
11Win11–0 Thomas PeatoTKO2, 1:1505 Mar 2015
10Win10–0 Junior Maletino IakopoTKO2, 1:0416 Oct 2014
9Win9–0 Lukasz RusiewiczUD623 Feb 2013Ergo Arena, Gdańsk, Poland.png" />
8Win8–0 Mathieu MonnierTKO5 08 Dec 2012Spodek, Katowice, Poland.png" />
7Win7–0 Björn BlaschkeTKO6, 1:0517 Mar 2012Krynica-Zdrój, Poland.png" />
6Win6–0 Florians StrupitsTKO1, 1:5003 Dec 2011
5Win5–0 Fatih CeyhanRTD3, 3:0012 Nov 2011Gdynia Sports Arena, Gdynia, Poland.png" />
4Win4–0 Patrick BergerTKO2, 2:0815 Oct 2011
3Win3–0 Rashid RaadUD402 Apr 2011Łuczniczka, Bydgoszcz, Poland.png" />
2Win2–0 Pavel HabrTKO1, 2:4720 Nov 2010
1Win1–0 Igor PapuniaKO1, 1:2916 Oct 2010Professional debut