Seifu Makonnen
Seifu Makonnen (11 June 1952 – 15 June 2020), known by the nickname Tibo, was a two-time Olympic boxer from Ethiopia. Biography He was born in Aleltu, in the province of Showa. By the age of 12, he already showed athletic prowess as a bodybuilder. In 1971, inspired by Muhammad Ali, he became a boxer. An American coach, Edward Simon, recognized Makonnen's ability and welcomed Makonnen into his classes. Makonnen then fought exhibition bouts in front of as many as 50,000 people at His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie Stadium. In August 1972, the Ethiopian Olympic Committee chose Makonnen for the team at the 1972 Munich Olympics as a light heavyweight. Awarded a scholarship by the German Sports Ministry, Makonnen went to Berlin two months early to train in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Stadium. While in Germany, he fought 10 exhibition fights and finished a course of studies in exercise science. At the 1972 Olympics, he lost his only bout to Harald Skog of Norway on points. Makonnen ended in an eight-way tie for ninth place out of 28 fighters in the Olympic finals. He earned the nickname Tibo, which means knockout in Amharic. In 1974 he was imprisoned by the