Leonard Doroftei

Leonard Doroftei

Doroftei in 1995
Statistics
Real name Leonard Dorin Doroftei[1]
Nickname(s) The Lion
Rated at Lightweight
Light welterweight
Height 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Nationality Romanian
Born (1970-04-10) April 10, 1970
Ploieşti, Romania[1]
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 24
Wins 22
Wins by KO 8
Losses 1
Draws 1

Leonard Dorin Doroftei (Romanian pronunciation: [le.oˈnard dorofˈtej], also known as Leonard Dorin; born 10 April 1970)[2] is a Romanian-Canadian former boxer, the WBA Lightweight World Champion from 5 January 2002 to 24 October 2003.

Amateur highlights

Doroftei took up boxing at the age of 14 at the Ploieşti boxing club. From 1983 to 1984, he won every Romanian national junior title. He went on to win five national senior titles in 1992–1994 and 1996–1997. He won bronze medals at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.[1] In addition, he was declared World Champion in 1995 and European Champion in 1993 and 1992. His record as an amateur was 239 victories and 15 defeats.[3]

Olympic results

1992 (as a Light Welterweight)

1996 (as a Lightweight)

Professional career

In 1997, Doroftei turned professional, signing with the Canadian club Interbox. Throughout his career, Dorin competed on ESPN, Showtime, and HBO. On 5 January 2002 he won the WBA world lightweight title, winning in a thrilling split decision over Argentinian boxer Raul Horacio Balbi 112–115, 114–113, 115–112. On 31 May the two fought again in Bucharest; this time, Dorin scored a knockdown en route to a clear cut unanimous decision victory, 118–111, 117–112 and 118–110.

A lightweight title unification bout on 17 May 2003 with American boxer Paul Spadafora, the IBF champion, ended in a draw, 114–114, 115–113, 114–115. The bout took place in Spadafora's hometown of Pittsburgh, and Dorin was a significant underdog. However, Dorin seemed to control the vast majority of the fight. He got to Spadafora early and often, surprising the champ with his intensity and workrate. Most observers agreed that Dorin had been robbed of a decision he deserved. Unfortunately for both fighters and boxing fans, a rematched never materialized.

On 24 October 2003, Doroftei was to fight a match against Panamanian boxer Miguel Callist. Doroftei had already announced that this would be his last professional match regardless of the result. As it turned out, the match was cancelled after Doroftei exceeded the maximum weight for lightweights at the weigh-in: he was 4 14 pounds (1.9 kg) over the 135 pounds (61 kg) weight limit, so he lost his WBA title.

On 24 July 2004, Doroftei lost his undefeated mark when he tried to get the WBC l title, getting knocked out with a body shot in two rounds by Arturo Gatti.[2]

Retirement

He now resides in Romania with his wife and 3 children and is working as a trainer for boxing prospects. He has his own pub-restaurant in Ploieşti, which is decorated with his photos and memories from his boxing career. In November 2012, he was elected President of Romanian Boxing Federation.[4]

Professional boxing record

22 Wins (8 knockouts, 14 decisions), 1 Loss, 1 Draw
Res. Record Opponent Type Rd., Time Date Location Notes
Loss 22–1–1 Canada Arturo Gatti KO 2 (12) 2004-07-24 United States Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey For WBC Light Welterweight title.
Win 22–0–1 United States Charles Tschorniawsky TKO 4 (12) 2004-03-20 Canada Montreal Casino, Montreal, Quebec First fight in 8 months.
Draw 21–0–1 United States Paul Spadafora SD 12 2003-05-17 United States Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania For WBA World Lightweight, IBF Lightweight and International Boxing Council Lightweight titles.
Win 21–0 Argentina Raul Horacio Balbi UD 12 2002-05-31 Romania Sala Polivalentă, Bucharest Retained WBA World Lightweight title.
Win 20–0 Argentina Raul Horacio Balbi SD 12 2002-01-05 United States Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas Won WBA World Lightweight title.
Win 19–0 United States Emanuel Augustus UD 10 2001-09-28 United States War Memorial Gymnasium, San Francisco, California
Win 18–0 United States Martin O'Malley TKO 9 (10) 2001-07-21 United States Bally's Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey O'Malley sustains a hairline fracture in his left ring finger and spends the next six weeks in a cast.
Win 17–0 Canada Darelle Sukerow KO 5 (8) 2000-12-15 Canada Molson Centre, Montreal, Quebec
Win 16–0 Australia Gairy St Clair UD 10 2000-09-08 Canada Molson Centre, Montreal, Quebec
Win 15–0 Puerto Rico Jose Aponte TKO 8 (8) 2000-06-16 Canada Molson Centre, Montreal, Quebec
Win 14–0 Argentina Gustavo Fabian Cuello SD 10 2000-04-06 Canada Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Win 13–0 United States Rudolfo Lunsford UD 8 2000-03-07 Canada Molson Centre, Montreal, Quebec
Win 12–0 United States Verdell Smith UD 10 1999-12-10 Canada Molson Centre, Montreal, Quebec
Win 11–0 United States Darien Ford UD 8 1999-10-29 Canada Molson Centre, Montreal, Quebec
Win 10–0 Canada Jean-Luc Morin TKO 3 (8) 1999-10-13 Canada Molson Centre, Montreal, Quebec
Win 9–0 Guyana Dillon Carew PTS 12 1999-04-30 United States Turning Stone Casino, Verona, New York For WBC Continental Americas Light Welterweight title.
Win 8–0 United States Bernard Harris SD 10 1999-02-05 Canada Centre Pierre Charbonneau, Montreal, Quebec
Win 7–0 United States Steve Valdez TKO 6 (8) 1998-11-27 Canada Molson Centre, Montreal, Quebec
Win 6–0 United States Khalil Shakeel UD 8 1998-11-06 Canada Centre Pierre Charbonneau, Montreal, Quebec
Win 5–0 United States Michael Balagna KO 1 (6) 1998-10-14 Canada Centre Pierre Charbonneau, Montreal, Quebec
Win 4–0 Canada Don Sponagle TKO 2 (6) 1998-09-24 Canada Centre Pierre Charbonneau, Montreal, Quebec
Win 3–0 United States Sean Knight UD 6 1998-05-28 United States Westchester County Center, White Plains, New York
Win 2–0 Canada Martin Aubut UD 6 1998-05-05 Canada Pavillon de la Jeunesse, Trois-Rivières, Quebec
Win 1–0 United States Jerry Villareal UD 4 1998-04-24 Canada Palais Sports Leopold-Drolet, Sherbrooke, Quebec Dorin's professional debut.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leonard Doroftei.
Preceded by
Raul Horacio Balbi
WBA Lightweight Champion
5 January 2002 – 2004 (vacates)
Succeeded by
Lakva Sim


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