Efetobor Wesley Apochi (born 2 November 1987 in Orogun, Delta State, Nigeria[1]) is the captain of the Nigerian boxing team and has represented Nigeria in several international tournaments as a heavyweight.
Efetobor Apochi entered international boxing competition at the 2011 All-Africa Games, where he surprised the boxing world by taking second.[2] Apochi then represented Nigeria at the 2013 World Championships, winning his first match before falling to the eventual gold medalist, Teymur Mammadov.[3] In January 2014, Apochi joined the Mexico Guerreros of the World Series of Boxing.[4][5]
At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Efetobor Apochi captained the Nigerian boxing team.[5] He knocked out his initial opponent in the first round[1] and then upset Australia's Jai Opetaia in the quarterfinals.[6] In the semi-finals, Apochi lost to the eventual gold medalist, Samir El Mais.[7] As a result, Apochi received a bronze medal.[8][9][10]
^Colin reigns on Africa, Lausanne, CH: AIBA, 9 December 2011, In the heavyweight division, Algeria's other WSB boxer, twice African Championships silver medallist, Chouaib Bouloudinat, was too strong for Nigeria's newcomer Apochi Efetobor. The Constantine-based boxer won the final by a clear 19:8.
^2013 World Championships opens in Kazakhstan, Lausanne, CH: AIBA, 14 October 2013, retrieved 2 August 2014, Heavyweight Nigerian Apochi, won the crowds over with his performance this afternoon. Though initially looking out gunned by his taller Turkish opponent Seyda Keser, the African boxer unleashed a storm of hooks which dropped his larger opponent and opened a cut above his left eye. Seeming to burst in flurries before recovering the African is clearly an explosive style of fighter and though his technique may not be the most refined he definitely has the heart and power to cause anyone a problem this year.
^Yahoo Sports, Yahoo, 2014, retrieved 2 August 2014, Australia's Jai Opetaia (L) fights Nigeria's Efetobor Apochi during a men's heavy quarter-final boxing match at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, on July 30, 2014.
^Sunday, Eno-Abasi (30 July 2014). "Apochi in boxing semifinal after pummelling Australia's Opetaia". The Guardian. Lagos, Nigeria. Archived from the original on 6 August 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014. SPECTATORS on the tiered stands at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC), venue of the boxing event at the Commonwealth Games, yesterday were in awe after a showboating Efetobore Apochi burst into rounds of backflips in celebration of his victory over Australia's Jai Opetaia. Apochi, a microbiologist, who graduated from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), Imo State, and captain of the Nigerian boxing team, resorted to the acrobatic display to celebrate his success in the round of 16.
