WBA Cruiserweight champion Paul Bamba of Rio Piederas, Puerto Rico passed away at the age of 35 on Friday according to ESPN in a weekend report. Bamba had a professional record of 19 wins and three losses.
When did Bamba win the WBA Gold Cruiserweight title?
Bamba just became the WBA Gold Cruiserweight title on December 21. In a bout at the Carteret Performing Arts Center in Carteret, New Jersey, Bamba beat Rogelio Medina of San Luis Rio, Colorado, Mexico.
The cause of death has not officially been announced yet, but what we do know is that Bamba had experienced his fair share of brain damage during his career of boxing.
Broke Mike Tyson’s record
Bomba broke Mike Tyson’s record in 2024 for most wins in a calendar year via knockout. Since January, Bomba won 14 matches via knockout to break Tyson’s record of 11 wins via knockout in a calendar year which was set in 1986. In addition to beating Medina, Bamba beat Guillermo Ponce of Colombia, Sergio Luna of Colombia, Jefferson Troncoso of Colombia, Victor Coronado of Colombia, Pedro Miranda of Colombia, Adoni Zapata Garcia of the Dominican Republic, Jose Ramon Escopedo of Mexico, Francisco Fuentes of Colombia, Ronald Montes of Colombia, Jose Luis Herrera of Colombia, Angel Giovanni Ocano Garcia of Mexico, Francisco Cordero of Colombia, and Santander Silgado Gelez of Colombia. The 14 wins came in five different countries–the United States, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Great Britain. Sadly, with this devastating death to Bomba, a maximum on the number of bouts a professional boxer competes in every year could be considered.
Who were the three boxers who beat Bamba?
Bamba’s first defeat came in June of 2021, when he was beaten by Abraham Velazquez Salazar of Mexico. That was followed by a loss to Derrick Vann of the United States in August of 2022 in Atlantic City, New Jersey and another loss to American Chris Avila of Stockton, California in New Orleans, Louisiana.
