Everette Oswald Ferguson BEM (21 February 1952 – 28 June 2018), better known as Elisha Obed was a Bahamian light middleweight boxer. He was the first Bahamian to win a world boxing title when he became the world light middleweight champion in 1975.

Early life Everette Oswald Ferguson was born in Acklins, Bahamas on 21 February 1952. He was the son of David Ferguson and Cetia Darling.

Boxing career Amateur career Obed entered the amateur ranks at age 12. Fighting almost weekly, he ran up an undefeated record of 46-0 (16 knockouts). At the age of 14, he became a professional boxer.

Professional career For almost 6 years, he lingered on small promotions on the island of Nassau, in the Bahamas. He was billed as undefeated, but he had lost a fight by knockout to veteran Kid Carew. His loss to Kid Carew was unlisted for almost 8 years, as he was reported incorrectly as undefeated in the press until his loss to Eckhard Dagge.

Veteran trainer and promoter Moe Fleischer travelled to Nassau to "check-out" this upcoming prospect. Mike Dundee, nephew of Angelo Dundee, came in as his manager.

Soon after, Obed was fighting main events. He earned a top ten ranking by knocking out former title contender Bunny Grant. Obed made his U.S. debut in Florida. Knocked out every top middleweight boxer in Florida in the early 1970s, including state Champion Dennis Riggs and former champion Jimmy Williams. On 1 June 1971, he won the Bahamian welterweight title, beating Ray Minus.

By January 1973, Obed had a professional record of 25-0 with 15 knockouts.

In 1975, he captured the WBC Light Middleweight Title by defeating Miguel de Oliveira. He defended the title twice before losing the belt to Germany's Eckhard Dagge in 1976, after which he quit, claiming he had blurred vision. Obed stated that he had been thumbed in the eye by a Dagge. In actuality, he was later found to have a detached retina and was legally blind in that eye.

Obed decided to enter the middleweight ranks. He later fought Australian Rocky Mattioli for the world championship title but was knocked out in the seventh round. By 27, he was back to where he started from, fighting on local fight cards in Nassau. He retired in 1988.

Death Obed died on Thursday, 28 June 2018 after a long illness. He was 66.

Awards and honours Obed was awarded the British Empire Medal Queen’s 2016 New Year’s Honours for services to sport.

Obed was into the National Sports Hall of Fame and also into the Florida Hall of Fame.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes120WinJames CoakleyPTS10 (10)06/03/1988119Loss90–22–4 James CoakleyPTS10 (10)21/03/1987118Loss90–21–4 Arnold NealKO4 (?)02/02/1986117Loss90–20–4 Earl BogerTKO8 (10)22/01/1986116Loss90–19–4 Arnold NealKO5 (?)17/05/1985115Win90–18–4 Rocky FabrizioPTS10 (10)28/09/1984114Loss89–18–4 Jeff NelsonTKO8 (10)18/06/1984113Win89–17–4 Eddie FlanningPTS10 (10)31/03/1984112Loss88–17–4 Samuel WhymsPTS10 (10)16/09/1983111Win88–16–4 Allen BriscoeKO3 (?)01/07/1983110Loss87–16–4 Jeff NelsonPTS10 (10)22/03/1983109Win87–15–4 Lonnie WilcoxKO3 (?)05/11/1982108Loss86–15–4 Willie Ray TaylorPTS8 (8)15/05/1982107Loss86–14–4 Homer JacksonPTS10 (10)16/02/1982106Loss86–13–4 Bobby CzyzDQ6 (10)12/11/1981105Loss86–12–4 Ralph HollettUD10 (10)25/08/1981104Win86–11–4 Edison StubbsKO2 (?)10/08/1981103Win85–11–4 Sherwin JohnsonPTS10 (10)01/05/1981102Win84–11–4 Homer JacksonPTS10 (10)25/03/1981101Win83–11–4 Eddie McNeeleyKO4 (?)14/03/1981100Win82–11–4 Rocky StevensTKO9 (10)30/01/198199Win81–11–4 Sammy MasiasKO5 (10)07/10/198098Loss80–11–4 Steve GregoryUD10 (10)24/07/198097Win80–10–4 Apakuki SakuruPTS10 (10)30/05/198096Loss79–10–4 Fulgencio ObelmejiasTKO3 (10)03/03/198095Win79–9–4 Willie FeatherstoneSD10 (10)12/02/198094Win78–9–4 Sammy BarrKO4 (?)26/12/197993NC77–9–4 Sammy BarrNC6 (?)23/11/197992Win77–9–4 Richie Lee RobertsPTS10 (10)19/10/197991Loss76–9–4 Curtis ParkerTKO7 (10)11/09/197990Win76–8–4 Charlie GrimmettKO9 (10)17/08/197989Win75–8–4 Hector MaldonadoKO5 (?)22/06/197988Win74–8–4 Terry RondeauKO6 (10)04/05/197987Win73–8–4 Pablo RodriguezKO5 (10)21/04/197986Win72–8–4 Juan SerranoPTS10 (10)30/03/197985Win71–8–4 Lionel CameronKO4 (?)23/02/197984NC70–8–4 A W MuhammadNC4 (?)13/01/197983Loss70–8–4 Tony ChiaveriniUD10 (10)02/12/197882Loss70–7–4 Georg SteinherrPTS10 (10)31/10/197881Loss70–6–4 Marijan BenešPTS10 (10)02/09/197880Win70–5–4 Henry Tiger HallTKO7 (?)28/04/197879Loss69–5–4 Rocky MattioliKO7 (15)11/03/197878Loss69–4–4 Joao MendoncaUD10 (10)02/12/197777Win69–3–4 Henry MitchellKO3 (10)23/10/197776Loss68–3–4 Ayub KalulePTS10 (10)02/06/197775Draw68–2–4 Jean Claude LeClairSD10 (10)22/02/197774Win68–2–3 Fernand MarcotteUD10 (10)18/01/197773Win67–2–3 Sammy BarrSD10 (10)19/11/197672Draw66–2–3 Sammy BarrPTS10 (10)24/09/197671Win66–2–2 Victor Taco PerezUD10 (10)21/09/197670Win65–2–2 Larry BrasierKO1 (10)07/08/197669Loss64–2–2 Eckhard DaggeTKO10 (15)18/06/197668Win64–1–2 Sea RobinsonUD15 (15)24/04/197667Win63–1–2 Tony GardnerKO2 (15)28/02/197666Win62–1–2 Miguel de OliveiraRTD10 (15)13/11/197565Win61–1–2 Nick PeoplesKO6 (10)13/10/197564Win60–1–2 Gene WellsKO5 (10)22/07/197563Win59–1–2 Chucho GarciaTKO5 (10)20/06/197562Win58–1–2 Nat KingKO8 (?)30/05/197561Win57–1–2 Marcel ClayKO8 (10)29/04/197560Win56–1–2 Manuel ElizondoKO10 (10)22/02/197559Win55–1–2 Fernand MarcotteTKO11 (12)21/01/197558Win54–1–2 Sammy RookardUD10 (10)25/12/197457Win53–1–2 Renato GarciaUD10 (10)16/11/197456Win52–1–2 Johnny RicoKO2 (10)19/10/197455Win51–1–2 Bobby WilliamsTKO5 (10)27/09/197454Win50–1–2 Guillermo EscaleraKO5 (10)06/09/197453Win49–1–2 Frank FloresKO5 (10)16/08/197452Win48–1–2 Carlos MarksUD10 (10)11/07/197451Draw47–1–2 Dario HidalgoMD10 (10)11/06/197450Win47–1–1 Chucho GarciaPTS10 (10)31/05/197449Win46–1–1 Roy LeeUD10 (10)26/04/197448Win45–1–1 Jesse RiosKO2 (10)09/04/197447Win44–1–1 Eddie DavisTKO5 (10)15/03/197446Win43–1–1 Vicente MedinaTKO7 (10)26/02/197445Win42–1–1 Windell SpencerTKO3 (10)15/02/197444Win41–1–1 Tom Von HattenTKO2 (10)15/01/197443Win40–1–1 Saulo HernandezTKO1 (10)14/12/197342Win39–1–1 Mike LankesterRTD7 (10)04/12/197341Win38–1–1 Dennis RiggsKO4 (10)13/11/197340Win37–1–1 Jose Papo MelendezRTD7 (10)19/10/197339Win36–1–1 Bunny GrantUD10 (10)28/09/197338Win35–1–1 Doug RogersTKO4 (10)06/08/197337Win34–1–1 Jimmy WilliamsKO1 (10)19/07/197336Win33–1–1 Cliff JohnsonTKO3 (10)25/05/197335Win32–1–1 Roy GossUD10 (10)23/04/197334Win31–1–1 Al CookTKO6 (10)29/03/197333Win30–1–1 Terry HaywardKO1 (10)23/02/197332Win29–1–1 Sandy TorresKO8 (10)26/01/197331Win28–1–1 Joe HooksKO6 (10)17/11/197230Win27–1–1 Prince Jimmy HammKO8 (10)26/08/197229Win26–1–1 Roscoe BellPTS10 (10)15/07/197228Win25–1–1 Dorman CrawfordKO10 (?)26/05/197227Win24–1–1 Sugar CliffTKO6 (12)08/04/197226Win23–1–1 Larry AdkinsPTS10 (10)25/09/197125Win22–1–1 Ray MinusUD15 (15)05/06/197124Win21–1–1 Carl StarlingKO3 (10)01/05/197123Win20–1–1 Don FraserKO10 (10)20/12/197022Win19–1–1 Buddy TaylorPTS10 (10)27/11/197021Win18–1–1 Droopy DavisTKO7 (10)29/08/197020Win17–1–1 Bert WoodsKO3 (?)15/05/197019Win16–1–1 Milton HallKO2 (?)03/04/197018Win15–1–1 Don FraserPTS8 (8)08/12/196917Win14–1–1 Sandy Ronnie JeffriesPTS8 (8)31/10/196916Win13–1–1 Winston GreenPTS8 (8)26/09/196915Win12–1–1 Sugarboy MonroeKO1 (?)15/08/196914Win11–1–1 Droopy DavisPTS8 (8)11/07/196913Win10–1–1 Kid JoeKO6 (?)14/03/196912Win9–1–1 Cornbread RhaminaKO5 (?)21/02/196911Win8–1–1 Roscoe RussellKO2 (?)07/02/196910Win7–1–1 Mike WhymmsKO1 (?)20/01/19699Win6–1–1 Taylor VenturaKO2 (?)02/12/19688Win5–1–1 Mike WhymmsKO3 (?)22/11/19687Win4–1–1 Freddie MajorPTS4 (4)10/08/19686Win3–1–1 Tony MortimerPTS4 (4)16/02/19685Loss2–1–1 Kid CarewKO2 (?)11/12/19674Draw2–0–1 Taylor VenturaPTS4 (4)10/11/19673NC2–0 Pino RomanoNC3 (4)13/10/19672Win2–0Taylor VenturaKO1 (?)15/09/19671Win1–0 Edison StubbsPTS4 (4)10/08/1967

See also List of world light-middleweight boxing champions Ray Minus

References

External links