Paea Wolfgramm

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Paea Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm in 2017
Personal information
Full namePaea Wolfgramm
NicknameThe Tongan Warrior
NationalityTongan
Born (1969-12-01) December 1, 1969 (age 54)
Vava'u, Tonga
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight140 kg (309 lb)
Sport
SportBoxing
Weight classSuper Heavyweight
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing  Tonga
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1996 Atlanta Super heavyweight
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Victoria Super heavyweight

Paea Wolfgramm (born December 1, 1969) is a Tongan retired boxer. Nicknamed "The Tongan Warrior", Wolfgramm earned the Super Heavyweight silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics, making him the first and only athlete from Tonga to win an Olympic medal.[1]

Personal

Wolfgramm has 7 children - 5 boys and 2 girls, as well as 4 brothers and 2 sisters. He resides in South Auckland New Zealand, where he is a hostel parent at a well-known New Zealand school, Wesley College.

Amateur highlights

Professional career

At 6'4" and 325 pounds, the huge Wolfgramm turned pro after the Olympics, but had limited success. He lost a decision to journeyman Marion Wilson in 1998. Although he was able to beat former Cuban Olympian Jorge Luis Gonzalez by decision to set up a fight with Wladimir Klitschko for the vacant WBC International Heavyweight Title, he was beaten in the first round in a rematch of their 1996 Super Heavyweight Olympic finals bout. He later lost a decision to Eliecer Castillo, but beat Jimmy Thunder to set up a fight with Corey Sanders in late 2001. Sanders won via 9th-round TKO, and Wolfgramm announced his retirement shortly after this fight.

Professional boxing record

24 fights 20 wins 4 losses
By knockout 14 2
By decision 6 2
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
24 Loss 20–4 United States Corey Sanders TKO 9 (10), 1:54 8 Aug 2001 United States Grand Victoria Casino, Elgin, Illinois, U.S.
23 Win 20–3 New Zealand Jimmy Thunder TD 7 (10), 3:00 1 Apr 2001 United States Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
22 Loss 19–3 Cuba Eliecer Castillo SD 12 21 Oct 2000 United States Silver Star Casino, Philadelphia, Mississippi, U.S. For vacant IBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title
21 Win 19–2 United States Rocky Gannon RTD 3 (8), 3:00 21 Jul 2000 United States Regent Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
20 Loss 18–2 Ukraine Wladimir Klitschko TKO 1 (12), 1:30 18 Mar 2000 Germany Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany For vacant WBC International heavyweight title
19 Win 18–1 United States Calvin Lampkin UD 10 5 Dec 1999 United States Casino Magic, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, U.S.
18 Win 17–1 United States Gerard Jones UD 10 7 Mar 1999 United States Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
17 Win 16–1 Cuba Jorge Luis González MD 8 15 Aug 1998 United States County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas, U.S.
16 Win 15–1 United States Guy Sonnenberg TKO 1 (8), 1:29 12 Jun 1998 United States Belle of Baton Rouge Casino, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.
15 Loss 14–1 United States Marion Wilson MD 6 9 May 1998 United States Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
14 Win 14–0 United States Rick Sullivan TKO 1 (6) 21 Mar 1998 Germany Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin, Germany
13 Win 13–0 United States Kevin Rosier TKO 1 (6), 1:12 16 Jan 1998 United States Trump Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
12 Win 12–0 United States Billy Eaton KO 1 (6), 1:29 20 Dec 1997 United States Country Club, Reseda, California, U.S.
11 Win 11–0 United States Ed White KO 1 (4), 2:15 23 Sep 1997 United States Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut, U.S.
10 Win 10–0 United States Gerald Brown TKO 1 (4) 23 August 1997 United States Wild Wild West, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
9 Win 9–0 United States Jessie Henry TKO 3 (4), 2:59 9 August 1997 United States South Padre Island, Texas, U.S.
8 Win 8–0 United States Robert Mitchell TKO 1 (4) 24 May 1997 United States Mammoth Events Center, Denver, Colorado, U.S.
7 Win 7–0 Armenia Khoren Indjian TKO 2 (4), 1:24 10 May 1997 United States MARK of the Quad Cities, Moline, Illinois, U.S.
6 Win 6–0 United States Ronnie Smith UD 4 3 Mar 1997 United States Austin, Texas, U.S.
5 Win 5–0 United States Stan Jones KO 2 (6) 14 Feb 1997 United States Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
4 Win 4–0 United States Momtchil Govedarov TKO 1 (4), 1:17 28 Jan 1997 United States Club Rio, Tempe, Arizona, U.S.
3 Win 3–0 United States Orlando Leavall PTS 4 17 Jan 1997 United States Country Club, Reseda, California, U.S.
2 Win 2–0 United States John Foster TKO 1 (4) 11 Jan 1997 United States Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
1 Win 1–0 United States Jeff Kirk KO 1 (4), 0:46 3 Dec 1996 United States Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California, U.S. Professional debut

Honours

National honours

References

  1. ^ "Boxing: Training was not all beer and skittles for Wolgramm". New Zealand Herald. 7 March 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Bittersweet moment for Pacific Islands first Olympic medalist, Paea Wolfgramm". Matangi Tonga. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Royal orders presented at Palace". Matangi Tonga. 1 August 2008. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.

External links

Olympic Games
Preceded by Flagbearer for  Tonga
Atlanta 1996
Succeeded by