Sven Ottke

Sven Ottke
Sven Ottke
	Ottke in 2017
Born	3 June 1967 (age 56); Berlin-Spandau, West Germany
Other names	The Phantom
Nationality	German
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Division	Super-middleweight ; Light-heavyweight ;
Reach	175 cm (69 in)
Stance	Orthodox
Fighting out of	Karlsruhe, Germany
Trainer	Ulli Wegner
Years active	1985–2004
Professional boxing record
Total	34
Wins	34
By knockout	6
Amateur record
Total	308
Wins	256
Losses	47
Draws	5
Other information
	Boxing record from BoxRec
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing West Germany
World Championships
Representing Germany
European Championships

Last updated April 10, 2024

Sven Ottke (born 3 June 1967) is a German former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2004. He was a unified super-middleweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 1998 to 2004, and the WBA (Unified) title from 2003 to 2004. With 21 successful title defences, Ottke was the fourth European boxer to retire as an undefeated world champion, after Jack McAuliffe, Terry Marsh, and Michael Loewe; Joe Calzaghe later became the fifth. Ottke defended the title against 20 boxers, a record in the super-middleweight division shared with Joe Calzaghe. As an amateur, Ottke won a bronze medal in the middleweight division at the 1989 World Championships.

Early life

Sven Ottke served two apprenticeships as a plasterer and industrial clerk. He became a member of the boxing club Spandauer BC 26 Berlin at the age of 14.

Amateur career

He rebutted his critics, which had complained that he had started too late, when he became German Champion at the age of 18 at Middleweight. Ten further titles would follow. He took part in the 1988, 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games . He became European Champion in 1991 and 1996, and came third in 1993.

Ottke held amateur wins over Antonio Tarver, Chris Byrd, Michael Moorer, Zsolt Erdei and Juan Carlos Gómez.^[1]

Amateur Record: 256-47-5
German Middleweight Champion (FRG) 1985–1989
German National Middleweight Champion (1990–1991, 1995–1996)
German National Light Heavyweight Champion (1992–1993)
Three time Olympian

Ottke finished his amateur career with a record of 256 wins, 47 losses (at least 4 by knockout,) 5 draws. As in his professional career, he spent most of his amateur career within Germany. Of a few World Championships and Summer Olympics, which he participated in, Ottke did not manage to pass the quarterfinals (apart from the Moscow 1989, where he was dropped out of the semifinals.)^[2]

Professional career

After 308 fights as an amateur, of which he won 256, he turned professional in 1997. Less than a year later on 24 October 1998, he won the IBF super middleweight championship from Charles Brewer via a disputed decision victory. After this he made 16 successful defenses of his IBF title against fighters such as Thomas Tate (twice), Glen Johnson, Silvio Branco, James Butler, Anthony Mundine, Charles Brewer in a rematch, and a controversial points win against Robin Reid. He was at the peak of his career when he won the WBA title on 13 March 2003 against WBA champion Byron Mitchell, winning by split points decision.

After successfully defending his title 21 times, Ottke stepped down as undefeated world champion on 27 March 2004. Ottke has a record of 34 wins and 0 losses as a professional, of which 6 were by knockout. He was named IBF "Fighter of the Year" in 2003.

Ottke was a durable and attritional fighter, with most of his wins coming by points decisions rather than knockout.

Notably, Ottke refused to defend his title outside Germany, and referees and ringside officials were often German. It has been alleged that both the refereeing and some of the points decisions were corrupt and biased, with many commentators in the Reid fight, in particular, commenting that it was some of the worst refereeing decisions that had seen and alleged corrupt judging being the only reason Ottke keeping his title.^[3] Reid, if he had won, had stated his intention to pursue a rematch against old foe Joe Calzaghe: the latter, holding the WBO belt, called out Ottke instead for a unification title match, but Ottke took only one more fight and then retired.

Planned comeback

In May 2008, a comeback was planned against Dariusz Michalczewski in Germany, but the match never materialized.

Professional boxing record

34 fights	34 wins	0 losses
By knockout	6	0
By decision	27	0
By disqualification	1	0

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
34	Win	34–0	Armand Krajnc	UD	12	27 Mar 2004	Bördelandhalle, Magdeburg, Germany	Retained WBA (Unified) and IBF super-middleweight titles
33	Win	33–0	Robin Reid	UD	12	13 Dec 2003	Nuremberg Arena, Nuremberg, Germany	Retained WBA (Unified) and IBF super-middleweight titles
32	Win	32–0	Mads Larsen	MD	12	6 Sep 2003	Messe, Erfurt, Germany	Retained WBA (Unified) and IBF super-middleweight titles
31	Win	31–0	David Starie	UD	12	14 Jun 2003	Bördelandhalle, Magdeburg, Germany	Retained WBA (Unified) and IBF super-middleweight titles
30	Win	30–0	Byron Mitchell	SD	12	15 Mar 2003	Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin, Germany	Retained IBF super-middleweight title; Won WBA (Unified) super-middleweight title
29	Win	29–0	Rudy Markussen	UD	12	16 Nov 2002	Nuremberg Arena, Nuremberg, Germany	Retained IBF super-middleweight title
28	Win	28–0	Joe Gatti	TKO	9 (12), 2:43	24 Aug 2002	Arena Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany	Retained IBF super-middleweight title
27	Win	27–0	Thomas Tate	UD	12	1 Jun 2002	Nuremberg Arena, Nuremberg, Germany	Retained IBF super-middleweight title
26	Win	26–0	Rick Thornberry	UD	12	16 Mar 2002	Bördelandhalle, Magdeburg, Germany	Retained IBF super-middleweight title
25	Win	25–0	Anthony Mundine	KO	10 (12)	1 Dec 2001	Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, Germany	Retained IBF super-middleweight title
24	Win	24–0	James Butler	UD	12	1 Sep 2001	Bördelandhalle, Magdeburg, Germany	Retained IBF super-middleweight title
23	Win	23–0	Ali Ennebati	TKO	11 (12), 2:28	29 Jun 2001	Nuremberg Arena, Nuremberg, Germany	Retained IBF super-middleweight title
22	Win	22–0	James Crawford	KO	8 (12), 2:52	24 Mar 2001	Bördelandhalle, Magdeburg, Germany	Retained IBF super-middleweight title
21	Win	21–0	Silvio Branco	UD	12	16 Dec 2000	Europahalle, Karlsruhe, Germany	Retained IBF super-middleweight title
20	Win	20–0	Charles Brewer	SD	12	2 Sep 2000	Bördelandhalle, Magdeburg, Germany	Retained IBF super-middleweight title
19	Win	19–0	Tocker Pudwill	UD	12	3 Jun 2000	Europahalle, Karlsruhe, Germany	Retained IBF super-middleweight title
18	Win	18–0	Lloyd Brian	UD	12	11 Mar 2000	Bördelandhalle, Magdeburg, Germany	Retained IBF super-middleweight title
17	Win	17–0	Glen Johnson	UD	12	27 Nov 1999	Philips Halle, Düsseldorf, Germany	Retained IBF super-middleweight title
16	Win	16–0	Thomas Tate	TD	11 (12), 0:25	4 Sep 1999	Bördelandhalle, Magdeburg, Germany	Retained IBF super-middleweight title; Unanimous TD: Ottke cut from an accidental head clash
15	Win	15–0	Gabriel Hernández	UD	12	8 May 1999	Philips Halle, Düsseldorf, Germany	Retained IBF super-middleweight title
14	Win	14–0	Giovanni Nardiello	KO	3 (12), 2:30	27 Feb 1999	Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin, Germany	Retained IBF super-middleweight title
13	Win	13–0	Charles Brewer	SD	12	24 Oct 1998	Düsseldorf, Germany	Won IBF super-middleweight title
12	Win	12–0	William Krijnen	UD	10	22 Aug 1998	Leipzig Trade Fair, Leipzig, Germany
11	Win	11–0	Asmir Vojnović	UD	12	30 May 1998	Riesa, Germany	Won WBC International light-heavyweight title
10	Win	10–0	Stephane Nizard	UD	8	21 Mar 1998	Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin, Germany
9	Win	9–0	Allen Smith	DQ	5	28 Feb 1998	Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, Germany
8	Win	8–0	Ali Saidi	UD	10	13 Dec 1997	Düsseldorf, Germany	Won German light-heavyweight title
7	Win	7–0	Roman Babaev	UD	8	18 Oct 1997	Vienna, Austria
6	Win	6–0	Fermin Chirino	UD	6	30 Aug 1997	Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin, Germany
5	Win	5–0	Yuri Filipko	UD	8	22 Jun 1997	Cologne, Germany
4	Win	4–0	Andy Flute	UD	6	1 Jun 1997	Riesa, Germany
3	Win	3–0	Teymuraz Kekelidze	PTS	6	26 Apr 1997	Leipzig, Germany
2	Win	2–0	Jason Hart	TKO	2 (6), 1:44	13 Apr 1997	Cologne, Germany
1	Win	1–0	Eric Davis	PTS	6	22 Mar 1997	Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin, Germany

Television viewership

Germany

Date	Fight	Viewership (avg.)	Source(s)
16 December 2000	Sven Ottke vs. Silvio Branco	4,940,000	^[4]
24 March 2001	Sven Ottke vs. James Crawford	5,310,000	^[4]
24 August 2002	Sven Ottke vs. Joe Gatti	4,460,000	^[5]
15 March 2003	Sven Ottke vs. Byron Mitchell	7,950,000	^[6]
13 December 2003	Sven Ottke vs. Robin Reid	6,990,000	^[7]
	Total viewership	29,650,000

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References

↑ "Sven Ottke's Amateur Record - BoxRec".
↑ Sven Ottke Partial Record - Amateur Boxing Results.
↑ "Robbed Reid is furious". 12 August 2004.
1 2 Henkel, Martin (26 March 2001). "Gerade rechtzeitig wird Sven Ottke zum K.o.-Schläger". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 2 June 2022.
↑ "RTL: "Kanzlerduell" bringt Quotensieg" (in German). 26 August 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
↑ "Ottke schaffte Box-Sensation" (in German). 16 March 2003. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
↑ "Schmeichelhafter Punktsieg: Verbeulter Ottke bleibt Weltmeister" (in German). 14 December 2003. Retrieved 2 June 2022.

External links

Sven Ottke in the German National Library catalogue
Boxing record for Sven Ottke from BoxRec (registration required)
Amateur record

Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Preceded by Ali Saidi	German light-heavyweight champion 13 December 1997 – October 1998 Vacated	Vacant Title next held by Thomas Ulrich
Preceded by Asmir Vojnovic	WBC International light-heavyweight champion 30 May 1998 – October 1998 Vacated	Vacant Title next held by Yawe Davis
World boxing titles
Preceded by Charles Brewer	IBF super-middleweight champion 24 October 1998 – 27 March 2004 Retired	Vacant Title next held by Jeff Lacy
New title Unified against Byron Mitchell	WBA super-middleweight champion Unified title 15 March 2003 – 27 March 2004 Retired	Vacant Title next held by Mikkel Kessler

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[1] "Sven Ottke's Amateur Record - BoxRec".

[2] Sven Ottke Partial Record - Amateur Boxing Results.

[3] "Robbed Reid is furious". 12 August 2004.

[sturm_vs._branco,_crawford-4] 1 2 Henkel, Martin (26 March 2001). "Gerade rechtzeitig wird Sven Ottke zum K.o.-Schläger". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 2 June 2022.

[sturm_vs._gatti-5] "RTL: "Kanzlerduell" bringt Quotensieg" (in German). 26 August 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.

[sturm_vs._mitchell-6] "Ottke schaffte Box-Sensation" (in German). 16 March 2003. Retrieved 2 June 2022.

[sturm_vs._reid-7] "Schmeichelhafter Punktsieg: Verbeulter Ottke bleibt Weltmeister" (in German). 14 December 2003. Retrieved 2 June 2022.

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Authority control databases
International	ISNI VIAF
National	Germany
People	Deutsche Biographie