Mihai Leu

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.

Mihai Leu
Leu in 2014
Statistics
Real nameMihai Leu
Nickname(s)Michael Loewe
Lion
Weight(s)Welterweight
Height5 ft 7 1⁄2 in (171 cm)
NationalityRomanian
Born (1969-02-13) 13 February 1969
Hunedoara, Hunedoara County, Romania
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights28
Wins28
Wins by KO10
Losses0
Draws0 Official Site

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.[2]

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.[3]

In total he fought 200 amateur matches, out of which he won 190.[4]

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

In 2014, he had colon cancer and received surgery in Bucharest and treatment in Vienna.[6]

References
  1. "BoxRec". boxrec.com.
  2. "Google Translate". translate.google.com. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  3. "worldjuniorchamps1987". amateur-boxing.strefa.pl.
  4. "Google Translate". translate.google.com. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  5. eWRC-results.com. "Mihai Leu - rally profile eWRC-results.com". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  6. "Google Translate". translate.google.com. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
Preceded by
Jose Luis Lopez		 WBO Welterweight Champion
2 Feb 1997 - 1997
Vacated		 Succeeded by
Ahmed Kotiev
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