Dariusz Michalczewski

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Dariusz Michalczewski
Nickname The Tiger
Nationality Flag of Poland Poland
Flag of Germany Germany
Date of birth May 5, 1968 (1968-05-05) (age 40)
Place of birth Danzig, Poland
Fighting out of Hamburg, Germany
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 175 lb (79.4 kg/12.5 st)
Reach 70 in (178 cm)
Stance Orthodox
Trainer Fritz Sdunek
Years active 17 (1988-2005)
Boxing record
Total 50
Wins 48
By knockout 38
Losses 2
By knockout 1
Amateur career
Total 150
Wins 133
By knockout 83
Losses 15
By knockout 0
Draws 2
Other information
Official site
Career boxing record from Boxrec
Medal record
Competitor for Flag of Poland Poland
Men’s Boxing
European Amateur Championships
Gold 1991 Gothenburg Light Heavyweight

Dariusz Michalczewski (born May 5, 1968, in Danzig) is a Polish light heavyweight boxer with German passport.

Contents

[edit] Early career

Michalczewski came up through Poland's state-run sports program as a boy and had a successful amateur career. On 24th April 1988, while competing in Germany for the Polish national team, Michalczewski defected from the team to stay in Germany. Becoming a citizen of Germany in 1991 and turning professional the same year, he was soon signed by Universum Box-Promotion, one of the leading boxing promoters in Europe. His aggressive style earned him the nickname "The Tiger."

[edit] Professional career

He won the German international light heavyweight (175-pound) title early on 13 February 1993, the title is for foreign born fighters based in Germany. He then won the IBF Intercontinental championship on 22 May 1993. Finally, on September 10, 1994, Michalczewski captured the WBO light heavyweight title with a 12-round decision over defending champion Leeonzer Barber.

Between then and March 2003, Michalczewski made 23 successful defenses of his WBO title and picked up three other belts along the way. Three months after beating Barber, he won the WBO's cruiserweight title with a knockout of Nestor Giovannini. However, he soon gave up that title to continue campaigning as a light heavyweight.

On June 13, 1997, he defeated Virgil Hill over 12 rounds to add Hill's WBA and IBF titles to his own. However, Michalczewski soon lost both alphabet titles. The WBA stripped him for displaying its belt along with that of the WBO, an organization it didn't recognize. The IBF did so a few weeks later, when Michalczewski refused to defend his title against mandatory challenger William Guthrie within 30 days.

After beating Hill, Michalczewski knocked out 14 consecutive opponents, all in defense of his WBO titles. On 1998, he defeated Drake Thadzi and in 2000 he went to defeat Graciano Rocchigiani.

Michalczewski had a perfect record of 48 wins and no losses when he faced Julio César González of Mexico in defense of his title on October 18, 2003. Coming into the fight, he was within one victory of tying Rocky Marciano's all-time record for an undefeated record by a world championship boxer. A win also would have put him just one victory short of Joe Louis' all-time record for successful defenses at any weight class. However, the now 35-year-old Michalczewski was unable to pull it off. He lost a split decision to the 27-year-old Gonzalez at the Color Line Arena in Hamburg, Germany and his career record dropped to 48-1.

Despite the loss, he still holds the record for the most consecutive successful title defenses at light heavyweight.

In October of 2004, it was announced that Michalczewski would come out of retirement to fight France's Fabrice Tiozzo for the WBA light-heavyweight title on February 26, 2005, in Hamburg. He fought him but he lost, and then he declared the end of his career in May 2005.

Michalczewski is rumoured to once again be ending his retirement, this time for a bout with German boxing icon Sven Ottke in Germany, in the late spring of 2008.

[edit] Amateur career

Amateur Record: 133-15-2 (83 KO's)

  • 1986 – European Junior Semi-Finalist in Middleweight division, defeating Fabrice Tiozzo but losing to Ray Close
  • 1990 – German National Champion in Light Heavyweight division
  • 1991 – European Champion in Light Heavyweight division

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Leeonzer Barber
WBO Light Heavyweight Champion
10 Sep 1994–18 Oct 2003
Succeeded by
Julio César González
Preceded by
Nestor Hipolito Giovannini
WBO Cruiserweight Champion
17 Dec 1994–Jan 1995
Vacated
Succeeded by
Ralf Rocchigiani
Preceded by
Virgil Hill
WBA Light Heavyweight Champion
13 Jun 1997–1 Jul 1997
Vacated
Succeeded by
Lou Del Valle
Preceded by
Virgil Hill
IBF Light Heavyweight Champion
13 Jun 1997–16 Jun 1997
Vacated
Succeeded by
William Guthrie