Georgi Kandelaki

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.

Georgi Kandelaki
Born (1974-04-10) April 10, 1974 (age 50)
Boxing record
Total fights24
Wins24
Wins by KO18
Losses0
Draws0
Medal record
Men’s amateur boxing
Representing  CIS
Junior World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1992 Montreal Heavyweight
Representing  Georgia
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 1993 Tampere Heavyweight
Gold medal – first place 1997 Budapest Super Heavyweight
World Cup
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Bangkok Heavyweight
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1993 Bursa Heavyweight

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

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 fights24 wins0 losses
By knockout180
24 Wins (18 knockouts, 6 decisions)[7]
No.ResultBilled
Wgt
OpponentOpp
Wgt
Opp RecordTypeRound,
time
DateLocationNotes
24Win238 Alexey Osokin22711–17–1TKO3 (6)17 Oct 2003 Sports Palace, Tbilisi, Georgia
23Win237½ Alexander Vasiliev22315–9–1TKO12 (12)21 Dec 2002 Yubileyny Sports Palace, Saint Petersburg, Russiafor vacant WBU heavyweight title
22Win? Eric French?10–24–3TKO1 (6)21 Sep 2002 Circus, Kyiv, Ukraine
21Win240 Derek McCafferty2462–6–0RTD5 (8), 3:0025 May 2002 Mountbatten Centre, Portsmouth, Hampshire, United Kingdom
20Win236½ Alexey Varakin218½17–9–2TKO1 (8), 2:102 Mar 2002 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom
19Win243¾ Alexey Osokin2369–13–1UD6 (6)20 Dec 2001 Giant Hall, Casino Conti, Saint Petersburg, Russia
18Win? Ilia Tlashadze?3–0–0KO323 Oct 2001 Variani, Georgia
17Win233½ Sam Ubokane226¾9–1–0TKO4 (6)29 Jan 2001 Bushfield Leisure Centre, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
16Win? Joey Guy?27–3–0TKO4 (8)26 Oct 2000 Sports Palace, Tbilisi, Georgia
15Win231 Harry Senior?7–8–1PTS8 (8)13 Jul 2000 York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom
14Win225 Rodney McSwain2187–11–0PTS6 (6)29 Apr 2000 The Arena, Wembley, London, United Kingdom
13Win220 Antoine Palatis227¼27–10–2PTS8 (8)21 Feb 2000 Elephant & Castle Centre, Southwark, London, United Kingdom80–73
12Win235¾ Derek McCafferty2382–2–0PTS8 (8)18 Dec 1999 Elephant & Castle Centre, Southwark, London, United Kingdom80–73
11Win228 Mark Young24214–36–1KO2 (8)8 Oct 1999 Sports Palace, Tbilisi, Georgia
10Win224¾ Kimmuel Odum22017–29–1TKO1 (8)21 Aug 1999 Batumi, Georgia
9Win226½ Spas Spasov2117–6–0TKO1 (8), 0:3715 Jul 1999 Werrington Sports Centre, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
8Win225¾ Yuriy Yelistratov226¼19–10–1KO1 (6), 1:4422 Jun 1999 Corn Exchange, Ipswich, Suffolk, United Kingdom
7Win228¾ Emile Ramon224¾4–4–0TKO1 (6), 2:3122 May 1999 Maysfield Leisure Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
6Win230½ Laszlo Paszterko219¼15–31–4TKO2 (6), 0:5924 Apr 1999 Planet Ice Rink, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
5Win231½ Johnny Davison2030–9–0TKO2 (6), 2:096 Mar 1999 Elephant & Castle Centre, Southwark, London, United Kingdom
4Win231¾ Ladislav Husarik2735–19–1PTS6 (6)6 Feb 1999 North Bridge Leisure Centre, Halifax, Yorkshire, United Kingdom60–55
3Win231 Jean Marie Naandu2014–9–0KO1 (6), 1:2312 Dec 1998 Northgate Arena, Chester, Cheshire, United Kingdom
2Win234¾ Steven Archie241debutTKO2 (4)26 Sep 1998 Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut, USA
1Win242½ Shane Woollas2328–10–0TKO2 (4), 2:532 Jul 1998 Corn Exchange, Ipswich, Suffolk, United Kingdom

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
0 matches0 wins0 losses
Res.RecordOpponentMethodEventDateRoundTimeLocationNotes
Win2-2 Mitsuya NagaiKORINGS - Mega Battle Tournament 1993: Second RoundNovember 18, 199317:19 Tokyo, Japan
Loss1-2 Yoshihisa YamamotoDecisionRINGS - Battle Dimension: Osaka Metropolitan Circuit IIJuly 13, 199353:00 Nagoya, Japan
Win1-1 Vladimir KravchukKORINGS - Mega Battle Tournament 1992: Semi-FinalsDecember 19, 199221:38 Tokyo, Japan
Loss0-1 Hans NijmanKORINGS - Mega Battle Tournament 1992: First RoundOctober 29, 199240:35 Nagoya, Japan

References

Preceded by
Johnny Nelson
Relinquished
WBU Heavyweight Champion
December 21, 2002 – January 2004
Retired
Succeeded by