Eben “Ebo” Elder, the all-action lightweight warrior of the 2000s, died Monday at the age of 46.
Elder, a southpaw who accrued a pro record of 22-3 (14 KOs) from 2000 to 2006, had been diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, in October of 2024. The news of his passing was announced by the Instagram account of Calvary La Habra, one of the churches that Elder, an evangelical pastor, had been associated with.
Though he underwent surgery to remove 98% of the tumor days after his diagnosis, Elder shared in July that he had suffered a relapse and would have to go back into surgery once more.
“The image from the MRI made things very clear – this disease is aggressive, but so is our faith,” Elder wrote at the time on his Instagram page.
Elder’s career highlights included upsetting the then-undefeated Oscar Diaz by unanimous decision in 2004 – in an ESPN2 Friday Night Fights main event that he accepted on 19 days’ notice – and his thrilling come-from-behind 12th round knockout of Courtney Burton later that year in one of the most dramatic bouts in ShoBox history.
In the Burton fight, Elder, who was out on his feet after the ninth round due to a late punch and had his right eye completely shut, stormed back in the 12th to drop Burton twice before the fight was stopped with a minute and eight seconds remaining.
“This win was a gift from God,” Elder told the Newnan Times Herald afterwards. “I took everything he had and kept coming, which broke his spirit.”
The Burton fight would be Elder’s final win, as he would be stopped in the 12th round in his next fight against Lakva Sim in a WBA lightweight title eliminator, and then in the fourth round against Michael “No Joke” Stewart in a fight that aired on the ESPN show “The Contender” in 2006.
Elder, who grew up in the Atlanta suburb of Newnan, Georgia, first began boxing as an elementary school student, competing in the 70lbs division of his local Golden Gloves tournament. His father, Greg, had been a 1968 Georgia Golden Gloves champion. After Elder broke his hand playing football, and was left unable to train in boxing, he picked up motocross, finishing sixth at the 1990 Winter National Olympics.
Elder was born with what the Atlanta Constitution newspaper characterized as a "severe cranial disorder" in a 1992 article. His father spoke to that paper about the determination his son had shown to become a boxing champion. “Ebo is not a ‘natural.’ He has to work so hard for everything. Determination has always been his strongest suit,” said Greg Elder.
Elder fell short of his dreams of making the 1996 Olympic team, finishing runner-up at that year’s Eastern Olympic Trials, and finishing with a silver at the 1999 U.S. National Championships, losing to 2000 Olympian Ricardo Williams Jnr.
After suffering his first pro defeat, a first round stoppage to Ubaldo Hernandez in 2001, Elder stepped away from the ring for over two years as he tried to pivot to a career as a drummer in a heavy metal band before returning to the ring for a breakout 2004 that saw him fight six times.
Stewart, who kept in touch with Elder and his family, was among those who expressed their sorrow at his passing. “Ebo was a good dude, man. Ebo gave it his all. When Ebo started out to do something, you were going to get 100% from him,” Stewart told BoxingScene.
In addition to boxing and preaching, Elder also wrote a book, "The Great Comeback,” which he published in 2018.
Elder leaves behind four children and his wife, Trish Elder, and was predeceased by his first wife, Amy, in 2023.