Kalambay Is Fighting for Name Recognition

If Sumbu Kalambay upsets Michael Nunn tonight at the Las Vegas Hilton and wins another version of the world middleweight championship, he will have traveled from 1,600 feet beneath his world to a station near the top of the boxing world.

Once a copper mine electrician in his native Zaire, Kalambay, 32, is a familiar name in the United States only to avid boxing fans.

To most, he has been an unknown champion. As one journalist quipped this week: “It’s the name. Sumbu Kalambay--it sounds like a foot disease.”

Kalambay wasn’t even a familiar name in Italy, his adopted country, until two years ago.

Rino Tommasi, a boxing television commentator from Milan, was trying to describe Kalambay’s popularity level in Italian sports.

“He’s as popular, I’d say, as the heavyweight, (Francesco) Damiani, but not nearly as popular as the big Italian soccer stars,” he said.

“In Italy, it’s not possible to be more popular than a soccer star, not even for the Pope.”

Nonetheless, most of Italy’s boxing followers will be tuned in at 5:30 a.m. Sunday for the live telecast of Nunn-Kalambay. They’ll see two polished boxers, both of whom aspire for multimillion-dollar paydays against the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran.

And for Kalambay, it has been a long, hard road. And before that, a deep mine shaft. If he pulls this off--oddsmakers have it at 4-1 that he won’t--they might even name some copper mines after him.

Until early March, Kalambay was a champion, and his bout with Nunn was to have unified the International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Assn. titles. But the WBA, because of a beef with promoter Bob Arum, stripped Kalambay of his title.

Through it all, Kalambay has been unflappable.

“It doesn’t matter. . . . People who have seen me fight know I am a champion,” he said.

Kalambay, whose ring style reminds many of Sugar Ray Leonard’s, including Sugar Ray Leonard, is 46-3-1 with 26 knockouts. Whereas Nunn is a gifted athlete with great speed, Kalambay is a master technician. He is a strong body puncher who throws short, accurate punches.

He was an African amateur champion but figured he needed to turn pro in Europe. He went first to France, then to Italy, in 1980, where he teamed up with his manager, Ennio Galeazzi. Kalambay is a naturalized Italian citizen.

He won 33 of his first 35 fights, but lost twice in 1985, to Duane Thomas in Atlantic City, N.J., and to Ayub Kalule, in Ancona, Italy.

Many gave up on Kalambay after that, including the Italian press.

Then he signed to fight Briton Herol Graham, in London. Graham was a heavy favorite.

“When I went to London to fight Graham (in May, 1987), not one Italian journalist went with me,” he said the other day.

He smiled when he said it, because he defeated Graham on a decision and put himself back in the championship picture. This week, 25 Italian sports journalists are in Las Vegas, covering Kalambay.

After his upset of Graham, Kalambay won the WBA championship with a decision over Iran Barkley.

He defended the title three times, against Mike McCallum, Robbie Sims and Doug DeWitt. McCallum predicted this week that Kalambay would beat Nunn.

Kalambay’s nickname, Sumbu, means poison in one of the numerous native dialects of Zaire. He has adopted an Italian name, Patrizio, as his first name.

His career as a mine electrician ended in 1978, when several miners were killed in an explosion on a day Kalambay wasn’t working. After that, his father pulled him out of the mines, he said.

Kalambay will earn $400,000 Saturday--his opponent will make $1.1 million--possibly making him the richest former copper miner ever.

He is quietly, almost serenely confident, yet respectful of his opponent Saturday.

“Nunn is young and very fast--he is a difficult opponent,” he said.

Kalambay’s wife, Rosa, two weeks overdue with the Kalambays’ second child, gave birth Wednesday to a daughter. Kalambay’s son, Patrick, is 5.

“I talked to my wife, and we will name our daughter Elisa Victoria, because I am going to win,” he said.