Ebo Elder
Ebo Elder 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
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 25 | Loss | 22–3 | Michael Stewart | TKO | 4, 1:52 | Jan 27, 2006 | Contender Gymnasium, Pasadena, California, US | The Contender (season 2) |
| 24 | Loss | 22–2 | Lakva Sim | TKO | 12, 0:44 | Sep 16, 2005 | Gwinnett Center, Duluth, Wisconsin, US | |
| 23 | Win | 22–1 | Courtney Burton | TKO | 12, 2:10 | Dec 17, 2004 | Chumash Casino, Santa Ynez, California, US | Retained WBO NABO lightweight title |
| 22 | Win | 21–1 | Ricardo Fuentes | TKO | 6 | Oct 9, 2004 | Georgia Mountain Center, Gainesville, Florida, US | Won vacant WBO NABO lightweight title |
| 21 | Win | 20–1 | Fernando Trejo | UD | 10 | Jul 9, 2004 | The Tabernacle, Atlanta, Georgia, US | |
| 20 | Win | 19–1 | William Rojas | TKO | 4, 2:29 | Apr 23, 2004 | Civic Center, Atlanta, Georgia, US | |
| 19 | Win | 18–1 | Oscar Díaz | UD | 10 | Mar 26, 2004 | Miccosukee Indian Gaming Resort, Miami, Florida, US | |
| 18 | Win | 17–1 | Tyrone Wiggins | TKO | 3 | Jan 23, 2004 | The Tabernacle, Atlanta, Georgia, US | |
| 17 | Loss | 16–1 | Ubaldo Hernandez | TKO | 1 | Nov 10, 2001 | Civic Center, Savannah, Georgia, US | For vacant NABF super lightweight title |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Dagoberto Najera | TD | 6 | Sep 29, 2001 | Emerald Queen Casino, Tacoma, Washington, US | Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental super lightweight title |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Jaime Morales | UD | 12 | Jul 28, 2001 | Savannah, Georgia, US | Won vacant IBA Continental light welterweight title |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Emmanuel Clottey | UD | 10 | Jul 3, 2001 | Six Flags Over Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia, US | |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Tyrone Ivory | TKO | 6, 1:48 | May 11, 2001 | Civic Center, Savannah, Georgia, US | |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Jerry Smith | RTD | 6 | Apr 12, 2001 | Hyatt Regency Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia, US | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Andre Baker | KO | 8 | Mar 24, 2001 | Savannah, Georgia, US | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Henry Cokes | KO | 2 | Feb 17, 2001 | Savannah, Georgia, US | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Leonti Vorontsuk | TKO | 4 | Feb 10, 2001 | Kingsway Leisure Centre, Widnes, Cheshire, England, UK | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Luis Alberto Rosales | TKO | 4 | Jan 25, 2001 | Michael's Eighth Avenue, Glen Burnie, Maryland, US | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Jamar Parker | TKO | 1 | Dec 29, 2000 | Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort, Chester, West Virginia, US | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Todd Stringfellow | KO | 1 | Dec 16, 2000 | Jarrell's Gym, Savannah, Georgia, US | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Terry Dominic | UD | 6 | Oct 13, 2000 | Atrium Arena, Stone Mountain, Georgia, US | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Melvin Jones | UD | 4 | Sep 23, 2000 | Casino Rama, Rama, Ontario, Canada | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Roy Hughes | TKO | 2 | Sep 1, 2000 | Ohkay Casino, San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, US | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Andre Baker | UD | 4 | Jul 21, 2000 | Soaring Eagle Casino, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, US | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Juan Thompson | TKO | 1, 1:39 | Jun 10, 2000 | Fox Theater, Detroit, Michigan, US |