Patrizio Sumbu Kalambay (born 10 April 1956) is an Italian former professional boxer. A world champion and two-time title challenger, he held the WBA world

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

title from 1987 until 1988.

Personal life

Kalambay was born in the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

. He moved to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

during his youth, settling in Chiaravalle, in the

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

region, where he learned

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

and still resides. He changed his name to Patrizio as a tribute to fellow Italian boxer

Patrizio Oliva Patrizio Oliva (born 28 January 1959) is an Italian former professional boxer, who won the gold medal in the light welterweight division at the 1980 Moscow Olympics as an amateur and the WBA light welterweight title as a professional. Early li ...

Professional career

After compiling an amateur record of 90 wins and 5 losses, Kalambay turned professional in 1980. In 1985, he was outpointed over ten rounds by Duane Thomas in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States. Kalambay won the Italian

title by defeating Giovanni De Marco by split decision, then lost to former WBA light middleweight champion

Ayub Kalule 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 ...

by split decision over twelve rounds for the

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

middleweight title. In May 1987 at The Arena, Wembley, London, Kalambay won the European middleweight title by outpointing

Herol Graham Herol Graham (born 13 September 1959) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1978 to 1998. A three-time world title challenger, he is generally acknowledged as one of the best British boxers of the post-war era to have never w ...

, who was 38-0 and ranked #1 in the world. In his next fight, Kalambay defeated future three-weight world champion

Iran Barkley Iran Barkley (; born May 6, 1960) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1999. He held triple champion, world championships in three weight classes, including the World Boxing Council, WBC middleweight title from 1988 ...

by unanimous decision over fifteen rounds to win the vacant WBA middleweight title. He made three successful title defenses, including an upset unanimous decision win over

Mike McCallum Michael McKenzie McCallum (7 December 1956 – 31 May 2025) was a Jamaican professional boxer who competed from 1981 to 1997. He held world championships in three weight classes, including the World Boxing Association (WBA) super welterweight ...

, the undefeated former WBA light middleweight champion. In March 1989, at the Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, he boxed undefeated IBF middleweight champion

Michael Nunn Michael John Nunn (born April 14, 1963) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2002. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the IBF middleweight title from 1988 to 1991, and the WBA super middleweight title ...

, being stripped of the WBA belt prior to the bout. Surprisingly, Kalambay was knocked out in the first round with one punch. It was the only knock out loss of his career. In 1990, Kalambay regained the European title by defeating Francesco Dell'Aquila, and defended it against Frederic Seillier, both via ninth round stoppages. In 1991, Kalambay had a rematch with McCallum in an attempt to regain the WBA middleweight title, which McCallum won by a close split decision. Kalambay made four more successful defenses of the European title in Italy, including a rematch win over Herol Graham, and a points victory over future two-weight world champion

Steve Collins Stephen Collins (born 21 July 1964) is an Irish former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 1997. Known as the Celtic Warrior, Collins is the most successful male Irish boxer in recent professional boxing history, having held the WBO ...

. In May 1993, at Granby Halls, Leicester, East Midlands, England, Kalambay lost by unanimous decision to Chris Pyatt in a challenge for the vacant

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...

middleweight title. At 37, Kalambay retired with a record of 57-6-1 (33 KOs). He then worked as a boxing trainer, coaching, among others,

Paolo Vidoz Paolo Vidoz (born 21 August 1970) is an Italian former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2011 and held the European heavyweight title from 2005 to 2006. As an amateur Vidoz won a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics in the super-heavyw ...

and

Michele Piccirillo Michele Piccirillo (born 29 January 1970 in Modugno, Italy) is a professional boxer in the welterweight () division. Amateur career Michele Piccirillo was an Italian boxer who earned the nickname “Il Gentleman del Ring” for his elegant f ...

Professional boxing record

Career after boxing

Sumbu Kalambay is currently the trainer of boxers

and Carel Sandon.

Family

He is the father of Patrick Kalambay, an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

References

Bibliography

* Gabriele Tinti, Sumbu Kalambay,''Con l'Africa dentro'', Milan, Mimesis, 2010.

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kalambay, Sumbu 1956 births Living people Democratic Republic of the Congo male boxers Sportspeople from Lubumbashi Democratic Republic of the Congo emigrants to Italy Italian male boxers European Boxing Union champions World middleweight boxing champions World Boxing Association champions The Ring (magazine) champions 20th-century Italian sportsmen