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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

Professional career edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

  1. ^ a b c Kapanadze, Eliso (11 February 2001). "The Next Round". Magticom. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Children's Dream Is to Be World Champions in Boxing". News. IRC-Georgia. Retrieved 12 October 2010.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ a b Persson, Per Ake (7 July 2006). "Q & A: George Kandelaki". Interview. East Side Boxing. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  4. ^ "EBU - Affiliated Federations". EBU. Archived from the original on 20 June 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  5. ^ "Boxing Promoters!". Joe Stack. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  6. ^ Gvazava, Rusudan (7 September 2009). "The President, the World Champion and I - Lali Moroshkina reveals unknown details about Mikheil Saakashvili and her ex-sweetheart Giorgi Kandelaki". Georgian Times. Georgian Times Media Holding. Archived from the original on 24 October 2010. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  7. ^ "BoxRec - George Kandelaki". Archived from the original on 2012-10-12.

External links edit

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