GGOATRANK
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Boxing · Featherweight · Ghana

Azumah Nelson

1979–2008 · Africa's greatest boxer: world champion at featherweight and super featherweight.

Retired
Ranking model

100% titles, statistics, dominance, longevity and global competition depth.

Pure sporting data
86.3
Cultural & brand footprint 58/100 · total legacy 81.2
World titles in weight classes
2
Title defences
13
Professional wins
39
Knockouts
28
Career losses
6

Category profile

Dominance
88
Peak
92
Longevity
86
Honours
88
Statistics
88

Career timeline · Form index per season

SeasonForm index per seasonShare of career
19798
19806
19815
19824
19833
19843
19853
19862
19872
19882
19892
19901
19911
19921

Data sources

  • BoxRec
  • The Ring
  • International Boxing Hall of Fame

Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method

Why Azumah Nelson ranks #15 in Boxing

Azumah Nelson ranks 15th among Boxing athletes on GOAT Rank and 157th of 1063 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 88.4 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 88, Peak 92, Longevity 86, Honours 88, Statistics 88. Those categories are normalised against the full Boxing reference universe of 267 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.

The record covers 1979–2008 with 14 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1979, which sets the Peak component at 92. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 92 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes world titles in weight classes 2, title defences 13, professional wins 39, knockouts 28.

Immediately ahead sits Canelo Álvarez on 88.2, a gap of -0.2 points. Directly behind is Evander Holyfield on 87.6. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.

Azumah Nelson GOAT Score explained

Dominance88/100 · weight 25%
Measures how far Nelson stood above the field while competing. Scored 88/100 against the full Boxing cohort.
Peak92/100 · weight 20%
Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1979. Scored 92/100.
Longevity86/100 · weight 20%
Rewards staying at that level over time: 29 years of competition and 14 recorded seasons. Scored 86/100.
Honours88/100 · weight 20%
Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 88/100.
Statistics88/100 · weight 15%
Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 88/100.

Azumah Nelson — frequently asked

Is Azumah Nelson the GOAT?
Not on the current data. Azumah Nelson ranks 15th in Boxing with a GOAT Score of 88.4, behind Sugar Ray Robinson on 94.3.
What is Azumah Nelson's GOAT Score?
88.4 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 88 (25%), Peak 92 (20%), Longevity 86 (20%), Honours 88 (20%), Statistics 88 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
Where does Azumah Nelson rank all time?
157th of 1063 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 15th within Boxing.
Azumah Nelson vs Canelo Álvarez: who ranks higher?
Azumah Nelson, on 88.4 against Canelo Álvarez's 88.2 — a margin of 0.2 points.
Compare with Robinson