Mihai Leu

Mihai Leu
Statistics
Nickname(s)	Michael Loewe Lion
Rated at	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 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
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Win	28-0	Michael Carruth	MD	12	1997-09-20	Tivoli Eissporthalle, Aachen	Retained WBO Welterweight Title.
Win	27-0	Santiago Samaniego	UD	12	1997-02-22	Sporthalle, Hamburg	Won vacant WBO Welterweight Title.
Win	26-0	Eric Jakubowski	TKO	5 (10)	1996-11-16	Sporthalle, Hamburg
Win	25-0	Jorge Ramirez	PTS	8	1996-10-19	Zoo-Gesellschaftshaus, Frankfurt
Win	24-0	Dwayne Swift	KO	4 (10)	1996-06-08	Deutz Sporthalle, Cologne
Win	23-0	Freddy Demeulenaere	PTS	8	1996-05-04	Sport und Erholungszentrum, Berlin
Win	22-0	Jose Brand	PTS	8	1996-04-13	Sporthalle, Hamburg
Win	21-0	Miguel Angel Pena	PTS	8	1995-06-10	Europahalle, Karlsruhe
Win	20-0	Craig Houk	TKO	11 (12)	1995-04-01	Saaltheater Geulen, Aachen	Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental Welterweight Title.
Win	19-0	Bobby Butters	UD	8	1995-01-28	Sporthalle, Berlin
Win	18-0	Harold Bennett	PTS	8	1994-12-17	Sporthalle, Hamburg
Win	17-0	Stefan Schramm	PTS	10	1994-12-03	Atelier Bruno Bruni, Hamburg	Won vacant German International Welterweight Title.
Win	16-0	Benjamin Felix	TKO	2	1994-11-13	Universum Gym, Hamburg
Win	15-0	Lloyd Ratalsky	TKO	4	1994-10-22	Hansehalle, Lübeck
Win	14-0	Attila Veres	PTS	8	1994-09-03	Wiener Neustadt
Win	13-0	Gejza Stipak	TKO	4	1994-04-10	Universum Gym, Hamburg
Win	12-0	Pave Turic	KO	2	1994-03-19	Vienna, Austria
Win	11-0	Antonio Daga	PTS	8	1994-02-19	Sportshalle, Hamburg
Win	10-0	Hector Omar Luque	PTS	6	1994-02-05	Deutschlandhalle, Berlin
Win	9-0	Nestor Jesus Gil	PTS	8	1993-10-15	Sporthalle, Berlin
Win	8-0	Marino Monteyne	PTS	6	1993-10-02	Barbarossa Halle, Kaiserslautern
Win	7-0	Farid Bennecer	KO	4	1993-09-11	Tivoli Eissporthalle, Aachen
Win	6-0	Miroslav Strbak	KO	4	1993-06-26	Sporthalle, Hamburg
Win	5-0	Oscar Washington	PTS	6 (6)	1993-05-22	Tivoli Eissporthalle, Aachen
Win	4-0	Miroslav Strbak	PTS	6	1993-04-03	Sporthalle, Hamburg
Win	3-0	Wayne Green	PTS	4	1993-02-13	Sporthalle, Hamburg
Win	2-0	Jan Mazgut	KO	2	1991-12-13	Minden
Win	1-0	Gejza Stipak	PTS	6	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, on 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 any rally 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 karting driver.

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

External links

• Mihai Leu's Official Site
• Professional boxing record for Mihai Leu from BoxRec