A man has been found guilty of murdering former Queen's Park boxing champion James Oyebola.
Kanyanta Mulenga was convicted at the Old Bailey on Wednesday for shooting Mr Oyebola in the back of the head at Chateau 6 nightclub, in Fulham Road, Fulham, in July last year.
Mr Oyebola, who lived in Portnall Road, Queen's Park, was shot three times in the leg and back after standing up to thugs determined to smoke inside the club after security guards had told them not to.
After the attack Mulenga and his friends left the area, grabbing a bottle of vodka, which later provided police with DNA evidence to identify one of the group.
DI Steve Horsely, of Operation Trident, said: "James was well known and greatly respected by those who knew and worked with him. His size and presence alone should have ensured that the situation didn't escalate.
"The defendant chose the cowardly option of pulling a gun on James over some as minor as smoking a cigarette. James was fatally wounded in the incident leaving his friends and family devastated by his loss."
Mulenga, 23, of Tildesley Road, Putney, is due to be sentenced tomorrow.
In a statement James Oyebola's family said: "There are no winners today; those central to the case have lost someone or something. Many lives have been changed forever.
"We are however pleased with today's verdict. Given all the evidence, we have always been confident that the jury would make the right judgement call. It is first and foremost thanks to the hard work and dedication shown by the investigating officers that this case was successfully made.
"Our gratitude goes out to all the officers of TRIDENT and in particular Detective Inspector Steve Horsley and his colleague, DC Matt Smith who at every point no matter how significant, or otherwise, always kept us informed.
"The late great Dr Martin Luther King Jr. once said "Let no man pull you low enough to hate him." We do not hate this young man found guilty today; on the contrary we feel sorry for both him and his family."
