Today in Sports History: Azumah Nelson TKO Danilo Cabrera to retain WBC title

On this day 22 June 1986 (Exactly 34 years ago today) Azumah Nelson successfully defended his World Boxing Council featherweight title , knocking out Danilo Cabrera in the 10th round at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San JuanT.

Nelson, then 24-1 with 19 knockouts, landed a right to Cabrera’s chin with 29 seconds left in the round to record his fourth title defense. Cabrera was a late replacement for Juan LaPorte of Purto Rico, a former division champion, who withdrew from the scheduled 12-round bout a week before citing a rib injury.

Nelson, a then 28-year-old from Ghana, weighed 126 pounds. Cabrera, from the Dominican Republic, weighed 125, and dropped to 24-3-1.

Elsewhere;

On this day 22 June 1980 (Exactly 40 years ago today) Horst Hrubesch scored a double as West Germany beat Belgium 2-1 to win their second European Cup at the Stadio Olympico in Rome.

They seemed in dominant mood and Horst Hrubesch settled any nerves with an early goal, but Belgium were to draw level when Rene Vandereycken converted a penalty.

Hrubesch flicked home a header with two minutes remaining, though, and that brought another European Championship victory for West Germany.

After losing the 1976 final to Czechoslovakia on penalties, West Germany were determined to put things right in Italy. A side boasting soon-to-be-crowned European Footballer of the Year Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Karlheinz Föster and Hansi Müller avenged that defeat in the group stage.

Among the contenders – whose number had risen from four to eight teams – were 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cup finalists the Netherlands, England and a solid Italy side hoping to win on home soil for the second time in 12 years. But this was to be West Germany’s – and Horst Hrubesch’s – tournament.

Germany : Herald Schumacher, Manfref Karltz, Karlheinz Forster, Uli Stielike, Bernhard Dietz (C), Bernd Schuster, Hans – Peter Briegel (Bernhard Cullmann), Hansi Muller, Horst Hrubesch, Klaus Allofs , Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

Manager : Jupp Derwall

Belgium : Jean -Marie Pfaf, Eric Greets, Luc Millecamps, Walter Meeuws, Michel Renquin, Wilfred Van Moer, Rene Vandereycken, Julien Cools (C), Raymond Mommens, Francis Van Der Elst, Jan Ceulemans.

Manager : Guy Thys

Referee :Nocolae Rainea (Romania)

Winners: West Germany
Runners-up: Belgium
Third: Czechoslovakia
Fourth: Italy

NB: This was the last European Championship with a third place play-off.

Source: ghanaweb