Patrizio Sumbu Kalambay (born 10 April 1956) is a Congolese-born 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 be ...
title from 1987 until 1988.
Personal life
Kalambay was born in the
Belgian Congo. He moved to
Italy during his youth, settling in
Chiaravalle, in the
Marche
Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...
region, where he learned
boxing and still resides. He changed his name to Patrizio as a tribute to fellow Italian boxer
Patrizio Oliva.
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
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 be ...
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 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 ...
, who was 38-0 and ranked #1 in the world.
In his next fight, Kalambay defeated future three-weight world champion
Iran Barkley 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, 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, 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.
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 Boxing ...
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 and
Michele Piccirillo.
Professional boxing record
Career after boxing
Sumbu Kalambay is currently the trainer of boxers
Paolo Vidoz,
Michele Piccirillo and
Carel Sandon.
Family
He is the father of
Patrick Kalambay
Patrick Kalambay (born 6 January 1984) is an Italian former professional footballer, who plays as a midfielder.
Club career
Kalambay has previously played professionally for several teams, most notably Fermana, Lumezzane, Triestina, Como and A ...
, an
Italian football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
midfielder.
See also
*
List of world middleweight boxing champions
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
People from Lubumbashi
Democratic Republic of the Congo emigrants to Italy
Italian male boxers
Italian sportspeople of African descent
European Boxing Union champions
World middleweight boxing champions
World Boxing Association champions
The Ring (magazine) champions