Paul Bamba

Bamba was born in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, on 15 August 1989.^[8]

On 4 October 2022, it was announced that Bamba would face British boxer Tommy Fury as the co-feature bout to Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Deji at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.^[9] However, during the weigh-in on 12 November, he weighed in at 176.6 Ibs while Fury weighed in at 181.4 Ibs. Both fighters stated that they made the weight that was stated in their contract.^[10] Bamba refused to fight, and on 13 November, the day of the fight, he was replaced by Cameroon boxer Rolly Lambert to fight Fury.^[11]

On April 21, 2023 Bamba faced UFC Bellator fighter Chris Avila, and lost by a unanimous decision making his record 5–3. Following the defeat, he went on a knockout streak, with many of the wins believed to have been fixed.^[12]

In November 2024, having achieved a record of 18 wins and 3 losses with 17 knockouts in a span of a year and half since his last loss, with 13 straight wins since January 2024 winning all by knockouts, Bamba was the first fighter signed to entertainer Ne-Yo's sports management company. Prior to that he had already captured the WBA-NABA cruiserweight title, WBA Fedecaribe and Fedecentro titles.^[13] Bamba first met Ne-Yo as his trainer, teaching him boxing as part of Ne-Yo's workout routine.^[14]

In 2024, Bamba fought 14 bouts ending in 14 KOs throughout the year and earned the WBA Gold cruiserweight title after defeating Rogelio Medina.^[15] He broke Mike Tyson's record for most professional fights in a one-year span.^[16]

Bamba died on 27 December 2024, at the age of 35.^[15][17] It was reported that he made brain damage admission weeks before death. After a fight against Avila, Paul later commented: "fighting Avila with a concussion and losing 22 lbs in three days gave me slight brain damage. Which was a bit scary and I had to take 8 months off so it's not a joking matter." In a later tweet he claimed he wasn't able to speak about it until Misfits Boxing decided to.^[18]