Tee Jay

Taju Akay (21 January 1962 – 19 May 2006), known professionally as Tee Jay, was a Ghanaian-born British boxer. After fighting for Ghana at the 1984 Olympic Games he turned professional and went on to become British cruiserweight champion.

Tee Jay
Statistics
Real nameTaju Akay
Weight(s)Cruiserweight
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
NationalityBritish
Born(1962-01-21)21 January 1962
Coimbatore
Died19 May 2006(2006-05-19) (aged 44)
London, England
Boxing record
Total fights19
Wins14
Wins by KO8
Losses4
Draws1

Career

Born in Accra, Ghana in 1962, Akay settled with his family in Paddington London in the 1970s where he boxed out of the All Stars Boxing and Youth Club, which his father—former professional Isola Akay had started.[1] He represented Ghana at the 1984 Summer Olympics at light-heavyweight, losing to Evander Holyfield in the first stage of the competition.[2][3]

He turned pro in 1985, and was unbeaten in his first five fights. In October 1986 he faced Andy Straughn for the British cruiserweight title vacated by Sammy Reeson, losing on points.[4] He got another shot at the title in May 1987, this time stopping defending champion Roy Smith in the first round to take the title.

Three further victories in 1987 set him up for a challenge for Glenn McCrory's Commonwealth title. The two met in January 1988 with both the British and Commonwealth titles at stake; McCrory won on points. When McCrory vacated the British title later that year, Akay and Straughn met in November to contest it;[5] Straughn again took a narrow points decision.

Akay won his next six fights and in May 1991 got another chance to win the British and Commonwealth titles when he faced Derek Angol at the Royal Albert Hall. Angol stopped Akay in the third round to retain the titles. This proved to be Akay's final fight.

Taju Akay died in May 2006 after suffering a heart attack.

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References
  1. Oyedoyin, Tunde (2002) "Sir Ishola Akay - The story of a boxing legend", Nigeria World, 1 October 2002. Retrieved 8 March 2015
  2. "Taju Akay", sports-reference.com. Retrieved 8 March 2015
  3. Alfano, Peter (2004) "Boxing; Gonzales Captures First Bout", The New York Times, 31 July 1984. Retrieved 8 March 2015
  4. "Andy Straughn's first defence...", Glasgow Herald, 15 December 1986, p. 9. Retrieved 8 March 2015
  5. "Bygones: Mixed fortunes for local professional boxers back in 1988 Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine", Nottingham Post, 19 October 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2015
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