Leonard Bundu (born 21 November 1974) is a Sierra Leone-born Italian former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

who competed from 2005 to 2016. He held multiple regional

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

championships, including 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 ...

title twice between 2011 and 2016; the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

title from 2009 to 2010; the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

title in 2014; and challenged once for the WBA interim welterweight title in 2014. As an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

, Bundu won a gold medal in the

light-welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

division at the

1997 Mediterranean Games The XIII Mediterranean Games, commonly known as the 1997 Mediterranean Games, were the 13th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Bari, Italy, from 13 to 25 June 1997, where 2,956 athletes (2,166 men and 790 women) from 21 countries partici ...

; welterweight bronze at the 1999 World Championships; and represented Italy at the

2000 Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

, where he reached the second round of the welterweight bracket.

Amateur career

Bundu won his first major amateur medal at the

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

, winning gold in the light-welterweight division. This was followed up with bronze at the 1999 World Championships in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. At the

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Bundu fought in the welterweight division, losing to Daniyar Munaytbasov in the second round. Bundu also represented his native Sierra Leone at the

2nd AIBA African 2004 Olympic Qualifying Tournament The 2nd AIBA African 2004 Olympic Boxing Qualifying Tournament was held in Gaborone, Botswana from March 15 to March 22, 2004. It was the second and last chance for amateur boxers from Africa to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics after the 2003 ...

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Botswana, largest city of Botswana, with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its metropolitan area is home to 534, ...

, where he won bronze in welterweight division.

Professional career

On 1 April 2005, Bundu won in his professional debut with a first-round

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

against Peter Gaspar. He would spend the next nine years fighting almost exclusively in his adoptive Italy, save for one outing in Germany. During this time Bundu would pick up many regional championships, including the vacant

title on 13 March 2009, in a

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighte ...

(UD) over Frank Haroche Horta.

Bundu vs. Petrucci

This was bettered on 4 November 2011, when Bundu won the full

welterweight title in a rematch against Daniele Petrucci; their first fight for the vacant title, on 25 June 2011, ended in an eighth-round

majority A majority is more than half of a total; however, the term is commonly used with other meanings, as explained in the "#Related terms, Related terms" section below. It is a subset of a Set (mathematics), set consisting of more than half of the se ...

technical draw A technical draw is a term used in boxing when a fight has to be stopped because a fighter is unable to continue from an accidental injury (usually cuts) or foul. Draws occur when the bout goes to the scorecards, and the officials cannot determin ...

Bundu vs. Gavin

Bundu defended his European title six times, as well as winning the

title against undefeated contender and decorated amateur Frankie Gavin. In their fight, on 1 August 2014, Bundu scored a surprise sixth-round knockdown with a hard body shot, and would go on to win by

split decision A split decision (SD) is a winning criterion in boxing, most commonly in full-contact combat sports, in which two of the three judges score one particular competitor as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other competitor. A split de ...

Bundu vs. Thurman

Later in the year, on 13 December, Bundu challenged unsuccessfully for his first major world championship in his first visit to the United States. Defending WBA interim titlist

Keith Thurman Keith Fitzgerald Thurman (born November 23, 1988) is an American professional boxer. He is a former unified welterweight world champion, having held the World Boxing Association, WBA title from 2016 to 2019 (promoted to WBA (Super), Super champio ...

, also an undefeated prospect at the time, knocked Bundu down in the first round, but Bundu showed his durability by going the full twelve-round distance with the feared puncher. In doing so, Bundu suffered his first professional loss via UD.

Bundu vs. Koivula

On 22 April 2016, Bundu won the vacant European welterweight title for a second time by stopping Jussi Koivula in nine rounds.

Bundu vs. Spence Jr

Later that year, on 21 August, Bundu travelled to the US for a third time to face Errol Spence Jr., another undefeated prospect, in what was an eliminator for the IBF welterweight title. The first three rounds were fast-paced and competitive, with Bundu utilising his

pressure fighting Throughout the history of gloved boxing styles, techniques and strategies have changed to varying degrees. Ring conditions, promoter demands, teaching techniques, and the influence of successful boxers are some of the reasons styles and strategies ...

style and

feint Feint, a French term that entered English via the discipline of swordsmanship and fencing, is a maneuver designed to distract or mislead. A feint is achieved by giving the impression that a certain maneuver will take place, while in fact another, ...

s, although his punch output would slow in the fourth as Spence began using consistent combinations and lateral movement. In round six, Bundu was floored by a hard

uppercut The uppercut (formerly known as the undercut) is a punch used in boxing that starts low and travels upwards vertically aiming at the opponent's chin or upper abdomen (so-called " solar plexus"). It is, along with the cross, one of the two main p ...

, but this was incorrectly deemed a push by the referee. Seconds later, Spence landed an uppercut–

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

combination which left Bundu slumped on the canvas unconscious, in his first knockout loss. He was also stripped of his European welterweight title.Persson, Per Ake (30 August 2016)
"Malignaggi vs. El Mousaoui in Line For EBU Clash, Bundu Stripped"
BoxingScene. Retrieved 30 August 2016.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

*
Leonard Bundu - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings
a
Box.Live
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bundu, Leonard 1974 births Sierra Leonean male boxers Living people Sportspeople from Freetown Light-welterweight boxers Welterweight boxers Olympic boxers for Italy Boxers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Italian male boxers European Boxing Union champions Commonwealth Boxing Council champions Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Italy Competitors at the 1997 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in boxing AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists 20th-century Italian sportsmen 21st-century Italian sportsmen