Professional career
After reunification, Schulz turned professional. In 1992 he became German heavyweight champion after defeating Bernd Friedrich in Kassel.
1992 and 1993 saw two fights against Henry Akinwande for the European championship. The first fight was declared a draw, but in the return match Schulz suffered his first professional defeat.
IBF heavyweight title challenges
On 22 April 1995 Schulz fought George Foreman for the IBF heavyweight title, losing controversially on points. This was Foreman's first fight since regaining the title from Michael Moorer, and Schulz was viewed at the time as being a weak, unknown opponent. After refusing a rematch, Foreman was stripped of his title and Schulz was given a second opportunity when he fought Francois Botha for the vacant title on 12 December 1995. Following a split decision verdict in Botha's favour, the result was changed to a no-contest when Botha failed a doping test. A third chance followed for Schulz on 22 June 1996 when he faced Michael Moorer for the still vacant title. Moorer won on points.
Several fights against lower quality opposition followed. These included a stoppage victory over Kevin McBride, who eight years later would defeat a badly faded Mike Tyson. Schulz ended his career after suffering a stoppage at the hands of Wladimir Klitschko on 25 September 1999 for the vacant European championship. Schulz had been thoroughly outclassed. In the end, despite lofty expectations after the George Foreman fight, Schulz was unable to win a title at European or world level.
Comeback attempt
Since the end of his career Schulz has worked in television as a summariser. In December 2005 he received an offer to fight again from Carl King, the stepson of the boxing promoter Don King. His comeback fight took place on November 25, 2006, against Brian Minto. He lost the fight in the sixth Round (T.K.O.).
He retired with a record with 26-5-1 and one no contest with 11 knockouts.
Axel Schulz married in March 2006. He and his wife had their first child, a girl, on 19 August 2006: Paulina Patricia Clara and another girl born in January 2010: Amelina Patricia Hedwig.
Michael Lee Moorer is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2008. He won a world championship on four occasions in two weight classes, having held the WBO light heavyweight title from 1988 to 1991; compiling 22 straight KOs in 22 fights and the WBO heavyweight title from 1992 to 1993; the unified WBA, IBF and lineal heavyweight titles in 1994; and regained the IBF heavyweight title again from 1996 to 1997 becoming a three-time heavyweight world champion.
Tony Craig Tucker is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1998. He won the IBF heavyweight title in 1987, and was the shortest-reigning world heavyweight champion at just 64 days. In an interview with Barry Tompkins, he referred to himself as the "invisible champion," due to the press and general public largely neglecting him. He is best known for giving Mike Tyson in his prime a relatively close fight, in which he, in the words of Larry Merchant, "rocked Tyson" in the first round. However, Tyson went on to win a unanimous decision. As an amateur, he won the 1979 United States national championships, the 1979 World Cup, and a gold medal at the 1979 Pan American Games, all in the light heavyweight division.
Wladimir Klitschko is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2017. He held the world heavyweight championship twice, including the unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and Ring magazine titles. A strategic and intelligent boxer, Klitschko is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time. He was known for his exceptional knockout power, using a strong jab, straight right hand and left hook, quick hand speed, great physical strength which he employed when clinching opponents, and his athletic footwork and mobility, unusual for boxers of his size.
Christopher Cornelius Byrd is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2009. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having first won the WBO title in 2000 after an upset corner stoppage over then-undefeated Vitali Klitschko. In his first title defense later that year, he lost to Vitali's brother Wladimir Klitschko. In 2002, Byrd defeated Evander Holyfield to win the IBF heavyweight title for his second reign as world champion. He made four successful defenses until losing his title again to Wladimir Klitschko in a 2006 rematch. He was ranked by BoxRec in the world's top 10 heavyweight from 1998 to 2004, reaching his highest ranking of No.3 in 2000.
Henry Adetokunboh Akinwande is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2008. He held the WBO heavyweight title from 1996 to 1997, as well as the Commonwealth heavyweight title in 1993, and the European heavyweight title from 1993 to 1994.
Francois "Frans" Botha is a South African former professional boxer and kickboxer. He competed in boxing from 1990 to 2014, and is perhaps best known for winning the IBF heavyweight title against Axel Schulz in 1995, but was later stripped after failing a drug test. He later challenged twice for world heavyweight titles in 2000 and 2002. Botha has competed against former Heavyweight Champions Mike Tyson, Wladimir Klitschko, Lennox Lewis, Michael Moorer and Evander Holyfield late in their respective careers. Botha participated once in mixed martial arts in 2004.
Johnathon Banks is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2014. He held the IBO cruiserweight title from 2008 to 2009 and challenged once for the IBF cruiserweight title in 2009. He currently works as a boxing trainer, most notably for former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, and was himself trained by the late Emanuel Steward. He is currently coaching Gennady Golovkin as well as Badou Jack.
Vitali Klitschko and Wladimir Klitschko, known as the Klitschko Brothers, are Ukrainian former professional boxers. During their peak years between 2004 and 2015, they were considered the dominant world heavyweight champions of their era, and among the most successful champions in boxing history. In 2011, they entered the Guinness World Records book as brothers with most world heavyweight title fight wins. In the years following the retirement of heavyweight titlist Lennox Lewis in 2004, the Klitschko brothers would eventually accumulate all four major world heavyweight titles. Known for their exceptionally large physiques, speed, and punching power, they each developed a style that utilized their athleticism and arm reach to break down opponents.
Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield, billed as Finally, was a professional boxing match fought between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson for the WBA heavyweight championship on November 9, 1996, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada. The bout was Tyson's first defence of the WBA title that he had won from Bruce Seldon on September 7 of that year.
Timo Hoffmann is a German professional boxer and multiple-time European heavyweight title challenger. He is perhaps best known as being the first fighter to have gone the full distance against Vitali Klitschko, who held at the time of their bout a record of 27 wins, 1 loss, and 27 knockouts. Between Klitschko's debut in November 1996 to December 2009 when Klitschko fought Kevin Johnson (boxer), Hoffmann was the only fighter who went the full distance with him. He holds notable wins over Corey Sanders, and Ross Puritty. He fought but did not beat the aforementioned Vitali Klitschko, Francois Botha and Henry Akinwande
Kubrat Venkov Pulev is a Bulgarian professional boxer. He has challenged once for the IBF and the Ring magazine heavyweight titles in 2014, and once for the unified heavyweight title in 2020. He won the WBA International heavyweight title in 2024. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the European title twice between 2012 and 2016. As an amateur, he won multiple medals at international tournaments, including gold at the 2008 European Championships and bronze at the 2005 World Championships, all in the super-heavyweight division. He also represented Bulgaria at the 2008 Olympics.
Boxing in the 2010s includes notable events about boxing which occurred between 2010 and 2019. The decade saw high intensity action in the welterweight division. The match between veterans Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao broke PPV records. The broadcast of the fight in the Philippines was watched by nearly half the country's households. Mayweather retired at a record 50-0-0 while Pacquiao became the first eight division champion. The middleweight division saw immense action in the later years of the decade. After a draw in 2017, Canelo Alvarez ended Gennady Golovkin's long reign in 2018. The heavyweight division was dominated by Klitschko brothers before Wladimir's loss to Tyson Fury in 2015. Other talents that emerged were Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksander Usyk.
Michael Moorer vs. George Foreman, billed as One for the Ages, was a professional boxing match contested on November 5, 1994 for the WBA and IBF heavyweight championships.
Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer II was a professional boxing match contested November 8, 1997 for the WBA and IBF heavyweight championships.
Evander Holyfield vs. Lennox Lewis, billed as Undisputed, was a professional boxing match contested on March 13, 1999 for the WBA, WBC, and IBF undisputed heavyweight championship.
George Foreman vs. Axel Schulz, billed as Celebration, was a professional boxing match contest, held on April 22, 1995, for Foreman's IBF and lineal heavyweight championships, as well as the vacant WBU heavyweight championship.
Chris Byrd vs. Wladimir Klitschko II, billed as "Revenge Is The Name Of The Game", was a professional boxing match contested on 22 April 2006 for the IBF and vacant IBO heavyweight championship.
Michael Moorer vs. Axel Schulz was a professional boxing match contested on 22 June 1996, for the IBF heavyweight championship.
