Ebo Elder (December 23, 1978 – December 1, 2025) was an American professional boxer. He was the WBO NABO Lightweight titleholder and also held the IBA Continental Light Welterweight title and WBO Inter-Continental Light Welterweight title. In January 2007, he left boxing to start Reality Ministries and began speaking at churches, colleges, public schools, youth detention centers and more.
Professional boxing career Ebo began boxing at the age of two when his father bought him a punching bag. He had a long amateur career with 139 wins before turning professional in 2000, amassing 16 wins before his first loss.
After a series of wins over mid-level opponents including Emmanuel Clottey, Elder took a significant step up in class with a convincing win over undefeated contender Oscar Diaz, winning by a score of 98–92 on all three scorecards. After a tune-up bout, Elder scored a near-shutout victory over 23–7 Fernando Trejo, launching him into a WBO NABO lightweight title match.
Elder won the WBO NABO lightweight title by 6th-round TKO over 17–3 Ricardo Fuentes, then defended it in a thrilling bout with 21–2 Courtney Burton. The scorecards were close after 11 rounds, before Elder dropped Burton twice in the twelfth, winning by TKO with 50 seconds left in the round. Shobox announcer Steve Farhood said of the Elder-Burton bout, "I don't think we've ever had a more physical, grueling, brutal fight."
The win over Burton would be Elder's last. In his last fight before joining the ESPN reality show, "Contender Season 2", he lost to former title holder Lakva Sim, this time as the recipient of a 12th-round TKO.
The Contender On the ESPN reality show The Contender 2 series debut, Elder was chosen to be on the Gold Team. In the first bout of the tournament, Ebo lost to Michael Stewart by technical knockout 1 minute 52 seconds into the 4th round.
Later life and death Later a born-again Christian, Elder devoted his time away from the ring as a speaker, evangelist, Bible teacher and author. He died on December 1, 2025, at the age of 46. He had been diagnosed with glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer, in October 2024.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes25Loss22–3 Michael StewartTKO4 (5), Jan 27, 200624Loss22–2 Lakva SimTKO12 (12), Sep 16, 200523Win22–1 Courtney BurtonTKO12 (12), Dec 17, 200422Win21–1 Ricardo FuentesTKO6 (12)Oct 9, 200421Win20–1 Fernando TrejoUD10Jul 9, 200420Win19–1 William RojasTKO4 (10), Apr 23, 200419Win18–1 Oscar DíazUD10Mar 26, 200418Win17–1 Tyrone WigginsTKO3 (4)Jan 23, 200417Loss16–1 Ubaldo HernandezTKO1 (12)Nov 10, 200116Win16–0 Dagoberto NajeraTD6 (12)Sep 29, 200115Win15–0 Jaime MoralesUD12Jul 28, 200114Win14–0 Emmanuel ClotteyUD10Jul 3, 200113Win13–0 Tyrone IvoryTKO6 (10), May 11, 200112Win12–0 Jerry SmithRTD6 (?)Apr 12, 200111Win11–0 Andre BakerKO8 (8)Mar 24, 200110Win10–0 Henry CokesKO2 (6)Feb 17, 20019Win9–0 Leonti VorontsukTKO4 (4), )Feb 10, 20018Win8–0 Luis Alberto RosalesTKO4 (6), )Jan 25, 20017Win7–0 Jamar ParkerTKO1 (?)Dec 29, 20006Win6–0 Todd StringfellowKO1 (?)Dec 16, 20005Win5–0 Terry DominicUD6Oct 13, 20004Win4–0 Melvin JonesUD4Sep 23, 20003Win3–0 Roy HughesTKO2 (4)Sep 1, 20002Win2–0 Andre BakerUD4Jul 21, 20001Win1–0 Juan ThompsonTKO1 (4), Jun 10, 2000
References
External links