Mihai Leu

Mihai Leu
Leu in 2014
Statistics
Nickname(s) Michael Loewe
Lion
Weight(s) Welterweight
Height 5 ft. 7½ in. (172 cm.)
Nationality Romanian
Born (1969-02-13) 13 February 1969
Hunedoara, Hunedoara County, Romania
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 28
Wins 28
Wins by KO 10
Losses 0
Draws

0

Official Site

Mihai Leu also known as Michael Loewe (born 13 February 1969, in Hunedoara)[1] is a Romanian former professional boxer who fought out of Hamburg, Germany. He is a former WBO Welterweight Champion.

Leu retired after one title defense, against Michael Carruth, becoming the second European boxer to retire as an undefeated world champion, after Terry Marsh. Due to an injury, he was forced to abandon boxing but unwilling to give up the world of sports, he turned to be a rally driver. He later became a national rally champion.

Amateur highlights

He started boxing in 1977 at the Hunedoara Constructorul club. In 1981 he moved to the Hunedoara Metalul from where in 1982 he moved on to Dinamo Bucharest. During his time with Dinamo, he won the national championship four consecutive years: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986. In 1986, he moved to Steaua Bucharest and also became part of the national team.

In 1987, he became World Junior Champion.[2]

In total he fought 200 amateur matches, out of which he won 190.

Professional career

In 1991, he became a professional boxer in Germany (using the name Michael Loewe) and had 28 wins of 28 matches in welterweight, winning the following titles:

  • 1993 - Germany Intercontinental Title (which he gave up without fighting)
  • 1995 - WBO Intercontinental Title (which he gave up without fighting)
  • 1997 - WBO Welterweight champion (which he gave up due to medical reasons)

Professional record

28 Wins (10 knockouts, 18 decisions), 0 Losses, 0 Draws [1]
Res. Record Opponent Type Rd., Time Date Location Notes
Win 28-0 Republic of Ireland Michael Carruth MD12 1997-09-20Germany Tivoli Eissporthalle, Aachen Retained WBO Welterweight Title.
Win 27-0 Panama Santiago Samaniego UD12 1997-02-22Germany Sporthalle, Hamburg Won vacant WBO Welterweight Title.
Win 26-0 United States Eric Jakubowski TKO5 (10) 1996-11-16Germany Sporthalle, Hamburg
Win 25-0 Dominican Republic Jorge Ramirez PTS8 1996-10-19Germany Zoo-Gesellschaftshaus, Frankfurt
Win 24-0 United States Dwayne Swift KO4 (10) 1996-06-08Germany Deutz Sporthalle, Cologne
Win 23-0 Belgium Freddy Demeulenaere PTS8 1996-05-04Germany Sport und Erholungszentrum, Berlin
Win 22-0 Colombia Jose Brand PTS8 1996-04-13Germany Sporthalle, Hamburg
Win 21-0 Spain Miguel Angel Pena PTS8 1995-06-10Germany Europahalle, Karlsruhe
Win 20-0 United States Craig Houk TKO11 (12) 1995-04-01Germany Saaltheater Geulen, Aachen Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental Welterweight Title.
Win 19-0 United States Bobby Butters UD8 1995-01-28Germany Sporthalle, Berlin
Win 18-0 United States Harold Bennett PTS8 1994-12-17Germany Sporthalle, Hamburg
Win 17-0 Germany Stefan Schramm PTS10 1994-12-03Germany Atelier Bruno Bruni, Hamburg Won vacant German International Welterweight Title.
Win 16-0 Portugal Benjamin Felix TKO2 1994-11-13Germany Universum Gym, Hamburg
Win 15-0 United States Lloyd Ratalsky TKO4 1994-10-22Germany Hansehalle, Lübeck
Win 14-0 Hungary Attila Veres PTS8 1994-09-03Austria Wiener Neustadt
Win 13-0 Slovakia Gejza Stipak TKO4 1994-04-10Germany Universum Gym, Hamburg
Win 12-0 Croatia Pave Turic KO2 1994-03-19Austria Vienna, Austria
Win 11-0 Italy Antonio Daga PTS8 1994-02-19Germany Sportshalle, Hamburg
Win 10-0 Argentina Hector Omar Luque PTS6 1994-02-05Germany Deutschlandhalle, Berlin
Win 9-0 Argentina Nestor Jesus Gil PTS8 1993-10-15Germany Sporthalle, Berlin
Win 8-0 Belgium Marino Monteyne PTS6 1993-10-02Germany Barbarossa Halle, Kaiserslautern
Win 7-0 Bulgaria Farid Bennecer KO4 1993-09-11Germany Tivoli Eissporthalle, Aachen
Win 6-0 Slovakia Miroslav Strbak KO4 1993-06-26Germany Sporthalle, Hamburg
Win 5-0 United States Oscar Washington PTS6 (6) 1993-05-22Germany Tivoli Eissporthalle, Aachen
Win 4-0 Slovakia Miroslav Strbak PTS6 1993-04-03Germany Sporthalle, Hamburg
Win 3-0 United Kingdom Wayne Green PTS4 1993-02-13Germany Sporthalle, Hamburg
Win 2-0 Czech Republic Jan Mazgut KO2 1991-12-13Germany Minden
Win 1-0 Slovakia Gejza Stipak PTS6 1991-09-16Germany Legien Center, Berlin

Rally career

In 1998 he started his new career at the wheel of a Ford Ka and after only three years, he managed to become Romania's rally vice-champion. He had already participated in rallying before, having made his debut in 1994, at the Banat Rally, in a Volkswagen Golf GTI.

Five years later, in 2003, he became Romania's national champion driving a Hyundai Accent WRC, with co-driver Ciprian Solomon. After failing to win another race after his championship winning year, Mihai Leu gave up competitive rallying in 2008, only to return in 2010, as team-manager of Jack Daniel's Rally Team, in the Romanian National Rally Championship (CNR).

Personal life

He is the son of Nicolae Leu, a well-known Romanian rally driver of the `70s–`80s. His brother, Victor, also made his debut in car racing in 1999, as his co-driver.

He is married and has a son Marco, born in 1993 who is a winter sportsman

He is involved in politics along with the Partidul Conservator, despite failing to secure a place in the European Parliament, in the 2007 national elections. He works part-time as assistant at the Tibiscus University in Timişoara.

References

  1. 1 2 "BoxRec". boxrec.com.
  2. ↑ "worldjuniorchamps1987". amateur-boxing.strefa.pl.
Preceded by
Jose Luis Lopez		 WBO Welterweight Champion
2 Feb 1997 - 1997
Vacated		 Succeeded by
Ahmed Kotiev
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