Ambrose Mendy
Born: 1954, London
Marital status & family: Married with children
Best known for; Promoter of former boxing world champion Nigel Benn; taking former England captain Paul Ince from West Ham to Manchester United; jailed spectacularly for fraud.
Honours & accolades: No information
Ambrose Mendy was amongst the first Black sports promoters/agents to successfully break into the sporting scene during the late 80s early 90s. At one stage Mendy could boast to have been the driving force behind a number of the country's leading sporting personalities including former world middleweight and super middleweight champion Nigel Benn, the first Black man to captain England Paul Ince, former Olympic champion Linford Christie and footballers John Barnes and John Fashanu to name but a few.
Mendy's tenacity is thought to have led him to the big time and he is reported to have bought his first Rolls Royce at age 19. In the years that followed he forged relationships of a sort with most if not all of the current British fight promoters and is also reputed to have brought former World Heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis back to Britain when he was an unknown former Olympian.
Once dubbed Britain's answer to Don King, his path to the top was dogged by a string of convictions and he was eventually jailed for 30 months in 1991 on charges of fraud, then convicted again four years later on additional fraud charges and sentenced to seven years. Among the sporting personalities testifying on his behalf at his trial was former boxer Michael Watson and dreadlocked show jumper and 007 actor Oliver Skeete.
Whilst away Mendy found time to complete two degrees, and forge and renew business links. Released in 1999, he is now working his way back to the top and since been named as an 'adviser' to snooker champion 'Rocket' Ronnie O'Sullivan, has arranged a bumper benefit game for ex-Manchester United star Danny Wallace and with former player John Fashanu set up the agency Worldwide Winners - an agency handling the transfer of continental stars to European clubs. The pair are said to have handled the £2.25m transfer of Colchester United unknown Lomano Lua-Lua to Newcastle United.
But he hasn't stopped there, newspaper reports suggests Mendy has also gone into business with sports lawyer Mel Golberg although the nature of that arrangement is not clear.
Mendy was sentenced in December 2002 to 21 months for attempted bank fruad, but has a home in Wanstead East London.
...his tenacity is thought to have led him to the big time, and he is reported to have bought his first Rolls Royce at age 19.
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