Drake Thadzi

Drake Thadzi (born November 23, 1964, in Lilongwe) is a Malawian former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 1998, twice challenging for a light heavyweight world title in 1995 and 1998. As am amateur, he competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Amateur career

Thadzi represented Malawi at the 1984 Olympics; he was decisioned in the second round of competition in the light heavyweight division (– 81 kg) by Algeria's eventual bronze medalist Mustapha Moussa.

Professional career

Soon afterwards Thadzi turned professional. He challenged Virgil Hill for the WBA light heavyweight title in 1995 but lost a decision.[1]

Thadzi scored his career best win in 1997, when he upset three-time world champion James Toney via majority decision at the Foxwoods Casino.[2] At that point Thadzi appeared primed to fight for a title but manager Goody Petronelli inexplicably failed to get him a fight during the next 15 months. Thadzi finished out with only two more fights after the Toney win – a technical knockout victory over "Iceman" John Scully and a title loss to Dariusz Michalczewski – before retiring in 1998 with a record of 30 wins (25 KO's), 1 draw and 9 losses.

References
  1. "Hill cruises to victory over Thadzi". The Bismarck Tribune. September 3, 1995. p. 13. Retrieved February 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Price, Terry (May 15, 1997). "Thadzi defeats overweight Toney". Hartford Courant. p. 163. Retrieved February 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
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