Zsolt Erdei

Last updated
Zsolt Erdei
Zsolt-Erdei.jpg
Erdei in 2009
Born (1974-05-31) 31 May 1974 (age 50)
NationalityHungarian
Other namesMadár ("Bird")
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Reach72 in (183 cm)
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights35
Wins34
Wins by KO18
Losses1
Medal record
Men's Amateur boxing
Representing Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary
Olympic Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2000 Sydney Middleweight
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1997 Budapest Middleweight
European Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1998 Minsk Middleweight
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2000 Tampere Middleweight
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1996 Vejle Middleweight

Zsolt Erdei (born 31 May 1974) is a Hungarian former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2014. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBO and lineal light-heavyweight titles from 2004 to 2009 (making eleven consecutive defences against ten different opponents), and the WBC cruiserweight title from 2009 to 2010. Erdei is the first boxer from Hungary to win world titles in two weight divisions. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal in the middleweight division at the 2000 Olympics. He also competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Contents

Amateur career

Professional career

Erdei turned professional in December 2000 and won the WBO Inter-Continental light heavyweight title in October 2002. On 17 January 2004 Erdei won the Lineal and WBO light heavyweight titles from Julio César González by unanimous decision, [1] and successfully defended the titles eleven times.

On 13 November 2009 he relinquished his WBO light heavyweight title and moved up to cruiserweight. [2] Erdei defeated Giacobbe Fragomeni on 21 November 2009 for the WBC cruiserweight title. Most of Erdei's matches during his professional career were promoted by Universum boxing.

After announcing his retirement in January 2010 and thus relinquishing his claim as Lineal light heavyweight champion, Erdei decided to have more matches in 2011 in the US and fought Samson Onyango and Byron Mitchell as his first opponents there. The Mitchell fight which was set up by Lou DiBella ended with Erdei knocking Mitchell out in the 6th round (TKO). [3]

Erdei finally returned on 30 March 2013, losing a 10-round split decision to Denis Grachev. [4]

Professional boxing record

35 fights34 wins1 loss
By knockout180
By decision161
No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
35Win34–1Shalva JomardashviliUD109 Mar 2014Messzi István Sportcsarnok, Kecskemét, HungaryWon vacant WBO European light-heavyweight title
34Loss33–1 Denis Grachev SD1030 Mar 2013 Salle des Etoiles, Monte Carlo, Monaco
33Win33–0 Byron Mitchell TKO6 (10), 1:58 4 Jun 2011 Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
32Win32–0Samson OnyangoUD8 20 Nov 2010 Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
31Win31–0 Giacobbe Fragomeni MD1221 Nov 2009 Sparkassen-Arena, Kiel, GermanyWon WBC cruiserweight title
30Win30–0 Yuri Barashian UD1210 Jan 2009 Bördelandhalle, Magdeburg, GermanyRetained WBO light-heavyweight title
29Win29–0 DeAndrey Abron UD1226 Apr 2008Freiberger Arena, Dresden, GermanyRetained WBO light-heavyweight title
28Win28–0Tito MendozaSD1224 Nov 2007 Freiberger Arena, Dresden, GermanyRetained WBO light-heavyweight title
27Win27–0 George Blades TKO11 (12), 2:2716 Jun 2007 SYMA Sports and Conference Centre, Budapest, HungaryRetained WBO light-heavyweight title
26Win26–0 Danny Santiago TKO8 (12), 1:5527 Jan 2007Burg-Wächter Castello, Düsseldorf, GermanyRetained WBO light-heavyweight title
25Win25–0 Thomas Ulrich UD1229 Jul 2006 König Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, GermanyRetained WBO light-heavyweight title
24Win24–0 Paul Murdoch TKO10 (12), 0:196 May 2006Burg-Wächter Castello, Düsseldorf, GermanyRetained WBO light-heavyweight title
23Win23–0 Mehdi Sahnoune TKO12 (12), 2:1722 Oct 2005Brandberge Arena, Halle, GermanyRetained WBO light-heavyweight title
22Win22–0 Hugo Garay SD1226 Feb 2005Color Line Arena, Hamburg, GermanyRetained WBO light-heavyweight title
21Win21–0Alejandro LakatosUD1211 Sep 2004Kisstadion, Budapest, HungaryRetained WBO light-heavyweight title
20Win20–0 Hugo Garay MD128 May 2004Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, GermanyRetained WBO light-heavyweight title
19Win19–0 Julio César González UD1217 Jan 2004 Dm-Arena, Karlsruhe, GermanyWon WBO light-heavyweight title
18Win18–0Ramdane SerdjaneKO1 (8)15 Nov 2003 Oberfrankenhalle, Bayreuth, Germany
17Win17–0Juan NelongoUD126 Sep 2003Újszeged Sports Hall, Szeged, HungaryRetained WBO Inter-Continental light-heavyweight title
16Win16–0Massimiliano SaianiTKO7 (12), 2:4312 Jul 2003 Wilhelm Dopatka Halle, Leverkusen, GermanyRetained WBO Inter-Continental light-heavyweight title
15Win15–0Jose Hilton Dos SantosTKO10 (12), 2:4529 Mar 2003 Color Line Arena, Hamburg, GermanyRetained WBO Inter-Continental light-heavyweight title
14Win14–0Juan Carlos GiménezTKO8 (12)23 Nov 2002 Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, GermanyRetained WBO Inter-Continental light-heavyweight title
13Win13–0Jim MurrayKO5 (12), 1:585 Oct 2002 Főnix Aréna, Debrecen, HungaryWon vacant WBO Inter-Continental light-heavyweight title
12Win12–0Roberto CoelhoUD817 Aug 2002Estrel Hotel, Berlin, Germany
11Win11–0Daren WhitleyUD629 Jun 2002 Etess Arena, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
10Win10–0Anthony StephensKO2 (8)16 Mar 2002 Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle, Stuttgart, Germany
9Win9–0Jesse CoronaTKO4 (8)15 Dec 2001 Estrel Hotel, Berlin, Germany
8Win8–0Alban GirouardKO2 (8), 0:553 Nov 2001Hansehalle, Lübeck, Germany
7Win7–0Julius GalTKO2 (4)1 Sep 2001 Berlin, Germany
6Win6–0Dennis MatthewsTKO3 (4), 1:184 Aug 2001 Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, US
5Win5–0Oleksandr GarashchenkoUD416 Jun 2001 Kisstadion, Budapest, Hungary
4Win4–0Henry MobioKO4 (4)7 Apr 2001Universum Gym, Hamburg, Germany
3Win3–0Dennis McKinneyUD427 Jan 2001 Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle, Munich, Germany
2Win2–0Willie McDonaldTKO2 (4)16 Dec 2000 Grugahalle, Essen, Germany
1Win1–0Philip HouthoofdtTKO1 (4)5 Dec 2000Universum Gym, Hamburg, Germany

See also

Related Research Articles

Julio César González Ibarra was a Mexican professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2011, and held the WBO and lineal light heavyweight titles from 2003 to 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heavyweight</span> Weight class in boxing

Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgil Hill</span> American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2007, and in 2015

Virgil Eugene Hill is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2007, and in 2015. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the WBA light heavyweight title twice, from 1987 to 1997; the IBF and lineal light heavyweight titles from 1996 to 1997; and the WBA cruiserweight title twice, from 2000 to 2002 and 2006 to 2007. As an amateur, Hill won a silver medal in the middleweight division at the 1984 Summer Olympics. In 2013, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonio Tarver</span> American boxer

Antonio Deon Tarver is an American former professional boxer and boxing commentator. In boxing he competed from 1997 to 2015, and held multiple light heavyweight world championships, including the WBA (Unified), WBC, IBF and Ring magazine titles, as well as the IBO light heavyweight and cruiserweight titles.

Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports.

In boxing, the undisputed champion of a weight class is the boxer who simultaneously holds world titles from all major organizations recognized by each other and the International Boxing Hall of Fame. There are currently four major sanctioning bodies: WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBF. There were many undisputed champions before the number of major sanctioning bodies recognizing each other increased to four in 2007, but there have been only 19 boxers to hold all four titles simultaneously.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aleksandr Lebziak</span> Russian boxer (born 1969)

Aleksandr Borisovich Lebziak is a Russian boxer, a three-time Olympian who won the Gold medal in the men's Light Heavyweight (81 kg) category at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He beat Rudolf Kraj in the final.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">István Kovács (boxer)</span> Hungarian boxer

István Kovács, nicknamed Ko-Ko or sometimes The Cobra, is a Hungarian retired world champion boxer. He is a Secretary General of the International Boxing Association (AIBA).

Thomas Ulrich is a German former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2012. He challenged twice for a light-heavyweight world title: the WBC title in 2005, and the WBO title in 2006. He also held the European light-heavyweight title three times from 2002 to 2008. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics in the light-heavyweight division.

Károly Balzsay is a Hungarian former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2012. He won the WBO super-middleweight title in 2009 by defeating Denis Inkin, making one successful defence before losing to Robert Stieglitz later that year. In 2011, Balzsay defeated Stanyslav Kashtanov to win the vacant WBA (Regular) super-middleweight title, also making one defence the following year.

Giacobbe Fragomeni is an Italian professional boxer. He held the WBC cruiserweight title from 2008 to 2009, and the European Union cruiserweight title from 2007 to 2008. As an amateur he won a bronze medal at the 1997 World Championships and gold at the 1998 European Championships, both in the heavyweight division. Outside of boxing, Fragomeni won the 2016 edition of the Italian reality TV show L'Isola dei Famosi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graciano Rocchigiani</span> German boxer

Graciano Rocchigiani was a German professional boxer who competed from 1983 to 2003. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the IBF super-middleweight title from 1988 to 1989, and the WBC light-heavyweight title in 1998. At regional level he held the European light-heavyweight title from 1991 to 1992. He was the younger brother of former cruiserweight world champion of boxing, Ralf Rocchigiani.

Danny Santiago is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2016. He challenged three times for a light heavyweight world title: the WBO title in January 2007, the IBO title in December 2007, and the WBA/IBA titles in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beibut Shumenov</span> Kazakhstani boxer

Beibut Amirhanovich Shumenov is a Kazakhstani former professional boxer. He is a multiple-time world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBA (Regular) cruiserweight title twice between 2016 and 2021 and the WBA light-heavyweight title from 2010 to 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lineal championship</span> Boxing championship

In combat sports where champions are determined by challenge, the lineal championship in a weight class represents an intangible world title first held by the victor of a bout between top contenders in the division. Some argue that vacancies in divisional championships can only be filled by an undisputed champion. A fighter who defeats the reigning champion in a match within the same weight class becomes the next lineal champion. In professional boxing, the lineal champion is informally known as "the man who beat the man."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sergio Martínez vs. Paul Williams II</span> Boxing competition

Sergio Martínez vs. Paul Williams, billed as The Explosive Rematch, was the rematch between Martínez and Williams which took place on November 20, 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Froch vs. Glen Johnson</span> Boxing competition

Carl Froch vs. Glen Johnson was a championship fight for the WBC Super Middleweight championship. The winner of the bout went on to the Finals of the Super Six World Boxing Classic and face WBA Champion Andre Ward, after his decision win over Arthur Abraham in May 2011. It was held on June 4, 2011, at Boardwalk Hall, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States, and televised on Showtime.

Denis Alexandrovich Grachev is a Russian boxer, kickboxer, and mixed martial artist residing in the United States. Grachev was the IKF Muay Thai world light cruiserweight champion.

References

  1. "Erdei shocks Gonzalez". BBC. 18 January 2004. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  2. "Erdei Vacates: Ding-Dong, the Lineage Argument is Dead". Boxing Scene. 14 November 2009. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  3. "Erdei stops Mitchell, eyes Hopkins". ESPN. 5 June 2011. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  4. "GRACHEV OUTPOINTS ERDEI". The Ring. 31 March 2013. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Glen Johnson
WBO Inter-Continental
light-heavyweight champion

5 October 2002 – 17 January 2004
Won world title
Vacant
Title next held by
Tomasz Adamek
Vacant
Title last held by
Jonathan Profichet
WBO European
light heavyweight champion

8 March 2014 – November 2014
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Umar Salamov
World boxing titles
Preceded by WBO light heavyweight champion
17 January 2004 – 13 November 2009
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Jürgen Brähmer
Preceded by WBC cruiserweight champion
21 November 2009 – 22 January 2010
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Krzysztof Wlodarczyk