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]
_2017.jpg) Wolfgramm in 2017 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Paea Wolfgramm |
| Nickname | The Tongan Warrior |
| Nationality | Tongan |
| Born | December 1, 1969 Vava'u, Tonga |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Weight | 140 kg (309 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Boxing |
| Weight class | Super Heavyweight |
Medal record | |
Personal
editWolfgramm 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
edit- 1994 3rd place at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada.
- Defeated Joseph Saimei (Solomon Islands) RSC 2
- Lost to David Anyim (Kenya) PTS (5-9)
- 1995 won the Oceanian Championships in Nuku'alofa, Tonga.
- 1996 Representing Tonga, Wolfgramm won the Super Heavyweight Silver Medal at the Atlanta Olympics.[2] Results were:
- Defeated Serguei Lyakhovich (Belarus) PTS (10-9)
- Defeated Alexis Rubalcaba (Cuba) PTS (17-12)
- Defeated Duncan Dokiwari (Nigeria) PTS (7-6)
- Lost to Wladimir Klitschko (Ukraine) PTS (3-7)
Professional career
editAt 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
edit| 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 |  Corey Sanders
|
TKO | 9 (10), 1:54 | 8 Aug 2001 | Grand Victoria Casino, Elgin, Illinois, U.S.
|
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| 23 | Win | 20–3 |  Jimmy Thunder
|
TD | 7 (10), 3:00 | 1 Apr 2001 | Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
|
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| 22 | Loss | 19–3 |  Eliecer Castillo
|
SD | 12 | 21 Oct 2000 | Silver Star Casino, Philadelphia, Mississippi, U.S.
|
For vacant IBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title |
| 21 | Win | 19–2 | Rocky Gannon
|
RTD | 3 (8), 3:00 | 21 Jul 2000 | Regent Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
|
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| 20 | Loss | 18–2 |  Wladimir Klitschko
|
TKO | 1 (12), 1:30 | 18 Mar 2000 |  Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany
|
For vacant WBC International heavyweight title |
| 19 | Win | 18–1 | Calvin Lampkin
|
UD | 10 | 5 Dec 1999 | Casino Magic, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, U.S.
|
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| 18 | Win | 17–1 | Gerard Jones
|
UD | 10 | 7 Mar 1999 | Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
|
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| 17 | Win | 16–1 | Jorge Luis González
|
MD | 8 | 15 Aug 1998 | County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas, U.S.
|
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| 16 | Win | 15–1 | Guy Sonnenberg
|
TKO | 1 (8), 1:29 | 12 Jun 1998 | Belle of Baton Rouge Casino, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.
|
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| 15 | Loss | 14–1 | Marion Wilson
|
MD | 6 | 9 May 1998 | Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
|
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| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Rick Sullivan
|
TKO | 1 (6) | 21 Mar 1998 | Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin, Germany
|
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| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Kevin Rosier
|
TKO | 1 (6), 1:12 | 16 Jan 1998 | Trump Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
|
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| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Billy Eaton
|
KO | 1 (6), 1:29 | 20 Dec 1997 | Country Club, Reseda, California, U.S.
|
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| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Ed White
|
KO | 1 (4), 2:15 | 23 Sep 1997 | Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut, U.S.
|
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| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Gerald Brown
|
TKO | 1 (4) | 23 August 1997 | Wild Wild West, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
|
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| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Jessie Henry
|
TKO | 3 (4), 2:59 | 9 August 1997 | South Padre Island, Texas, U.S.
|
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| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Robert Mitchell
|
TKO | 1 (4) | 24 May 1997 | Mammoth Events Center, Denver, Colorado, U.S.
|
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| 7 | Win | 7–0 |  Khoren Indjian
|
TKO | 2 (4), 1:24 | 10 May 1997 | MARK of the Quad Cities, Moline, Illinois, U.S.
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| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Ronnie Smith
|
UD | 4 | 3 Mar 1997 | Austin, Texas, U.S.
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| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Stan Jones
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KO | 2 (6) | 14 Feb 1997 | Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
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| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Momtchil Govedarov
|
TKO | 1 (4), 1:17 | 28 Jan 1997 | Club Rio, Tempe, Arizona, U.S.
|
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| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Orlando Leavall
|
PTS | 4 | 17 Jan 1997 | Country Club, Reseda, California, U.S.
|
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| 2 | Win | 2–0 | John Foster
|
TKO | 1 (4) | 11 Jan 1997 | Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
|
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| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Jeff Kirk
|
KO | 1 (4), 0:46 | 3 Dec 1996 | Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
|
Professional debut |
Honours
edit- National honours
Order of Queen Sālote Tupou III, Member (31 July 2008).[3]
References
edit- ^ "Boxing: Training was not all beer and skittles for Wolgramm". New Zealand Herald. 7 March 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- ^ "Bittersweet moment for Pacific Islands first Olympic medalist, Paea Wolfgramm". Matangi Tonga. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
- ^ "Royal orders presented at Palace". Matangi Tonga. 1 August 2008. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
External links
edit- Paea Wolfgramm at BoxRec (registration required)
- Paea Wolfgramm at Olympics.com
- Paea Wolfgramm at Olympedia
- Paea Wolfgramm at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)
