Hogan Bassey

MBE MON
Born(1932-04-27)27 April 1932
Cross River, Creek Town, Calabar, Nigeria
Died26 January 1998(1998-01-26) (aged 65)
Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria

Hogan "Kid" Bassey listenⓘ MBE MON (3 June 1932 – 26 January 1998) was a Nigerian-British boxer; he was the first man of Nigerian descent to become a world boxing champion.[1]

He was born Okon Asuquo Bassey on the banks of the Cross River, Creek Town, Calabar, Nigeria, and became naturalised British when he moved to the UK, where he spent most of his life in Liverpool.[2] He took the name Kid Bassey when he turned professional as a boxer. He was managed by and trained by George Biddles and Jimmy August.[3]

Boxing career

After 14 contests in Nigeria, Bassey went to Liverpool, England, arriving there three days before Christmas 1951.[4]

After winning the Empire featherweight championship, he won the WBA world featherweight title by defeating French Algerian Cherif Hamia in Paris on the 24 June 1957. He lost the title to US fighter Davey Moore on 18 March 1959. Other opponents include Billy "Spider" Kelly, Percy Lewis, Tommy Profitt, Sammy McCarthy, Ricardo Moreno, and Willie Pep.

Life after boxing

In the 1958 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) "for services to sport in the Eastern Region, Nigeria".[5][6] Bassey went on to become a coach in Nigeria, which awarded him the country's highest honour, the Order of the Niger, in 1973.[7] He died on 26 January 1998 at his home in Apapa, Lagos.

Professional boxing record

See also


References

  1. ↑ "Hogan "Kid" Bassey – First Nigerian to become a world boxing champion". Records Nigeria. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  2. ↑ "Hogan "Kid" Bassey". The Cyber Boxing Zone. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  3. ↑ "Biography at boxrec.com". boxrec.com. 31 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  4. ↑ "Obituary: Hogan Bassey". Independent (London). FindArticles.com. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  5. ↑ United Kingdom list: "No. 41268". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1957. p. 25.
  6. ↑ "Hogan". NigerDeltaCongress.com. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  7. ↑ "Hogan "Kid" Bassey — Meet the First Nigerian To Become A World Boxing Champion". Talk Africana. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  8. ↑ "Hogan Kid Bassey – Boxer". BoxRec.com. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
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