Georgi Kandelaki
Georgian boxer
Georgi Kandelaki
Born (1974-04-10 ) April 10, 1974 (age 50) Boxing record Total fights 24 Wins 24 Wins by KO 18 Losses 0 Draws 0
Georgi Kandelaki (Georgian : გიორგი კანდელაკი ; born 10 April 1974) is a Georgian former boxer and current boxing administrator. He competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics , at the 1997 World Amateur Boxing Championships he became the first Georgian to win a World Championship,[ 1] and from 2002 to 2003 held the World Boxing Union heavyweight title.
Early life
Kandelaki was born in the village of Variani [ 2] and was introduced to boxing by his father, Tarash Kandelaki.[ 1] In 1991, he completed Variani secondary school, and went on to study at the Gori State University Economics Department.[ 1]
Amateur career
In 1992 Kandelaki won the Junior World Championships in the heavyweight class, and in 1993 he won the European Championships and reached the final of the World Championships , where he lost by default to Félix Savón .
In the 1995 World Championships , he reached the quarter-finals having beaten Friday Ahunanya , and again lost by default to Félix Savón.
Representing Georgia at the 1996 Summer Olympics , he defeated Thompson Garcia and Wojciech Bartnik before losing to Félix Savón in the quarter-finals. In the European Championships the same year , he lost to Christophe Mendy in the quarter-finals.
In 1997, he fought in the super heavyweight class in the World Championships , and defeated Vitali Boot , Petr Horáček , Jean-Francois Bergeron and Sergei Liakhovich to reach the final, where he won the title against Alexis Rubalcaba .
Highlights
Soviet Junior Tournament (81 kg), April 1989:
International Junior Tournament (91 kg), Tbilisi , Georgian SSR , December 1990:
1/2: Defeated Tomasz Bonin (Poland) RSC 1
Finals: Defeated Nikolay Pyatakov (RSFSR) by unanimous decision, 5–0
Ahmet Comert Tournament (91 kg), Istanbul, Turkey , May 1992:
Junior World Championships (91 kg), Montreal, Canada , September-October 1992:
1/8: Defeated Robert Geer (United States) 7–0
1/4: Defeated Ismael Kone (Sweden) 11–1
1/2: Defeated Peer Mueller (Germany) 6–4
Finals: Defeated Stephen Gallinger (Canada) 19–2
World Championships (91 kg), Tampere, Finland , May 1993:
1/8: Defeated Bert Teuchert (Germany) 10–9
1/4: Defeated Mikael Höök (Sweden) 7–0
1/2: Defeated Arshak Avartakyan (Armenia) 7–2
Finals: Lost to Félix Savón (Cuba) by walkover
European Championships (91 kg), Bursa, Turkey , September 1993:
1/16: Defeated Peter Saat (Estonia) 8–1
1/8: Defeated Fyodor Mishko (Belarus) 9–2
1/4: Defeated Fikret Güneş (Turkey) 4–2
1/2: Defeated Georgios Stefanopoulos (Greece) 7–4
Finals: Defeated Don Diego Poeder (Netherlands) 11–2
Chemistry Cup (91 kg), Halle, Germany , March 1994:
1/2: Lost to Jan Bezvoda (Czech Republic) 1–3
World Cup (91 kg), Bangkok, Thailand , June 1994:
Chemistry Cup (+91 kg), Halle, Germany , March 1995:
World Championships (91 kg), Berlin, Germany , May 1995:
1/8: Defeated Jonas Dambrauskas (Lithuania) 4–2
1/4: Lost to Félix Savón (Cuba) by walkover
100th Anniversary Tournament (91 kg), Moscow, Russia , October 1995:
Finals: Defeated Sergey Sosnin (Russia) by unanimous decision, 5–0
Strandzha Cup (91 kg), Sofia, Bulgaria , February 1996:
1/4: Defeated Oleg Belikov (Ukraine) 5–2
1/2: Lost to Christophe Mendy (France) RET 2
European Championships (91 kg), Vejle, Denmark , March-April 1996:
Summer Olympics (91 kg), Atlanta, Georgia , July 1996:
Tammer Tournament (+91 kg), Tampere, Finland , September 1997:
1/4: Defeated Rimantas Prišmantas (Lithuania) 3–0
1/4: Lost to Patrick Halberg (Denmark) 1–6
World Championships (+91 kg), Budapest, Hungary , October 1997:
Professional career
In 1998, Kandelaki started boxing as a professional for Panix Promotions . In 2002, he won the World Boxing Union heavyweight title. In 2003, he retired unbeaten because of an eye injury .[ 3]
Retirement and later life
After his boxing career, Kandelaki founded the Georgian Professional Boxing Association and became its president.[ 3] [ 4] [ 5] He trained boys as boxers in his home village of Variani and other villages.[ 2] He was mentioned in the book The President, the World Champion and I by Lali Moroshkina .[ 6]
Professional boxing record
24 fights
24 wins
0 losses
By knockout
18
0
24 Wins (18 knockouts, 6 decisions)[ 7]
No.
Result
Billed Wgt
Opponent
Opp Wgt
Opp Record
Type
Round, time
Date
Location
Notes
24
Win
238
Alexey Osokin
227
11–17–1
TKO
3 (6)
17 Oct 2003
Sports Palace , Tbilisi , Georgia
23
Win
237½
Alexander Vasiliev
223
15–9–1
TKO
12 (12)
21 Dec 2002
Yubileyny Sports Palace , Saint Petersburg , Russia
for vacant WBU heavyweight title
22
Win
?
Eric French
?
10–24–3
TKO
1 (6)
21 Sep 2002
Circus, Kyiv , Ukraine
21
Win
240
Derek McCafferty
246
2–6–0
RTD
5 (8), 3:00
25 May 2002
Mountbatten Centre , Portsmouth , Hampshire , United Kingdom
20
Win
236½
Alexey Varakin
218½
17–9–2
TKO
1 (8), 2:10
2 Mar 2002
York Hall , Bethnal Green, London , United Kingdom
19
Win
243¾
Alexey Osokin
236
9–13–1
UD
6 (6)
20 Dec 2001
Giant Hall, Casino Conti, Saint Petersburg , Russia
18
Win
?
Ilia Tlashadze
?
3–0–0
KO
3
23 Oct 2001
Variani , Georgia
17
Win
233½
Sam Ubokane
226¾
9–1–0
TKO
4 (6)
29 Jan 2001
Bushfield Leisure Centre, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire , United Kingdom
16
Win
?
Joey Guy
?
27–3–0
TKO
4 (8)
26 Oct 2000
Sports Palace , Tbilisi , Georgia
15
Win
231
Harry Senior
?
7–8–1
PTS
8 (8)
13 Jul 2000
York Hall , Bethnal Green, London , United Kingdom
14
Win
225
Rodney McSwain
218
7–11–0
PTS
6 (6)
29 Apr 2000
The Arena , Wembley, London , United Kingdom
13
Win
220
Antoine Palatis
227¼
27–10–2
PTS
8 (8)
21 Feb 2000
Elephant & Castle Centre , Southwark, London , United Kingdom
80–73
12
Win
235¾
Derek McCafferty
238
2–2–0
PTS
8 (8)
18 Dec 1999
Elephant & Castle Centre , Southwark, London , United Kingdom
80–73
11
Win
228
Mark Young
242
14–36–1
KO
2 (8)
8 Oct 1999
Sports Palace , Tbilisi , Georgia
10
Win
224¾
Kimmuel Odum
220
17–29–1
TKO
1 (8)
21 Aug 1999
Batumi , Georgia
9
Win
226½
Spas Spasov
211
7–6–0
TKO
1 (8), 0:37
15 Jul 1999
Werrington Sports Centre, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire , United Kingdom
8
Win
225¾
Yuriy Yelistratov
226¼
19–10–1
KO
1 (6), 1:44
22 Jun 1999
Corn Exchange, Ipswich, Suffolk , United Kingdom
7
Win
228¾
Emile Ramon
224¾
4–4–0
TKO
1 (6), 2:31
22 May 1999
Maysfield Leisure Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland , United Kingdom
6
Win
230½
Laszlo Paszterko
219¼
15–31–4
TKO
2 (6), 0:59
24 Apr 1999
Planet Ice Rink, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire , United Kingdom
5
Win
231½
Johnny Davison
203
0–9–0
TKO
2 (6), 2:09
6 Mar 1999
Elephant & Castle Centre , Southwark, London , United Kingdom
4
Win
231¾
Ladislav Husarik
273
5–19–1
PTS
6 (6)
6 Feb 1999
North Bridge Leisure Centre, Halifax, Yorkshire , United Kingdom
60–55
3
Win
231
Jean Marie Naandu
201
4–9–0
KO
1 (6), 1:23
12 Dec 1998
Northgate Arena , Chester, Cheshire , United Kingdom
2
Win
234¾
Steven Archie
241
debut
TKO
2 (4)
26 Sep 1998
Mohegan Sun Casino , Uncasville, Connecticut , USA
1
Win
242½
Shane Woollas
232
8–10–0
TKO
2 (4), 2:53
2 Jul 1998
Corn Exchange, Ipswich, Suffolk , United Kingdom
Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
0 matches
0 wins
0 losses
Res.
Record
Opponent
Method
Event
Date
Round
Time
Location
Notes
Win
2-2
Mitsuya Nagai
KO
RINGS - Mega Battle Tournament 1993: Second Round
November 18, 1993
1
7:19
Tokyo, Japan
Loss
1-2
Yoshihisa Yamamoto
Decision
RINGS - Battle Dimension: Osaka Metropolitan Circuit II
July 13, 1993
5
3:00
Nagoya, Japan
Win
1-1
Vladimir Kravchuk
KO
RINGS - Mega Battle Tournament 1992: Semi-Finals
December 19, 1992
2
1:38
Tokyo, Japan
Loss
0-1
Hans Nijman
KO
RINGS - Mega Battle Tournament 1992: First Round
October 29, 1992
4
0:35
Nagoya, Japan
References
External links
1982–2019: over 91 kg
2021–present: over 92 kg