Avtandil Khurtsidze ( ka, ავთანდილ ხურციძე; born 2 May 1979) is a

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

n former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who competed from 2002 to 2017. He held the WBO

interim An interim is a period of temporary pause or change in a sequence of events, or a temporary state, and is often applied to transitional political entities. Interim may also refer to: Temporary organizational arrangements (general concept) *Provis ...

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

title in 2017 and won the IBO middleweight title in 2011. He also challenged for the interim WBA middleweight title in 2010. In September 2018, Khurtsidze was convicted of

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and of ...

and

wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to fraud, defraud another, and are Federal crime in the United States, federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the ...

conspiracy and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment, and is expected to remain incarcerated in the United States until 2028.

Professional career

Early career

Khurtsidze compiled a record of 7-1-2 in his first ten fights, before making

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

his new home for his next fifteen fights. While fighting in Ukraine, he won the WBA Inter-Continental middleweight title in July 2008 and defended it four times. On 31 July 2010, Khurtsidze beat

Sergey Khomitsky Sergey Khomitsky ( be, Siarhei Khamitski; born 13 September 1974) is a Belarusian professional boxer who has challenged once for the WBA interim middleweight title in 2015. Professional career Khomitsky made his professional debut on 30 Janua ...

Minsk, Belarus Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the adm ...

by sixth-round

corner retirement A corner retirement or corner stoppage – abbreviated "RTD (Retired)" by BoxRec – are terms used in boxing to describe a fight that ends when, during any rest period between rounds, a boxer refuses to continue or their corner pulls them out, t ...

Khurtsidze vs. N'Dam N'Jikam

The victory over Khomitsky marked Khurtsidze's 16th consecutive victory. Khurtsidze was now ranked #2 by the WBA, and his next fight was for the WBA interim middleweight title against

Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam (born 18 February 1984) is a French Cameroonian professional boxer. He has held a middleweight world championship twice, including the WBO title in 2012 and the WBA (Regular) title in 2017, and has challenged once for a ...

(ranked #1 by the WBA) on 30 October 2010 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. During the fight, N’Dam N'Jikam was cut over both eyes, as Khurtsidze, being much smaller, tended to lean forward with his head like a stocky bull and often collided heads with his opponent. Despite Khurtsidze piling on constant pressure and being unfazed by N'Dam N'Jikam's shots, he lost a close

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighter ...

with scores of 117-111, 115-114 and 115-114. The decision was controversial, which was reflected by the fans booing the announcement of the decision.

IBO middleweight champion

Khurtsidze vs. Cendrowski

Khurtsidze rebounded from the controversial loss to N'Dam N'Jikam by returning to his native

for his next fight, the first time he had done so since his professional debut. He faced

Mariusz Cendrowski Mariusz Cendrowski (born 20 October 1977) is a Polish former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2012. As an amateur, he competed in the men's light welterweight event at the 2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, offici ...

for the vacant IBO middleweight title on 13 March 2011. Khurtsidze applied his trademark aggression to continuously stalk Cendrowski all over the ring, and landed powerful punches with his left hand throughout the duration of the fight. After twelve rounds, Khurtsidze was awarded a unanimous decision victory, with scores of 120-108, 116-112, 117-112, becoming the IBO middleweight champion.

Khurtsidze vs. Miranda

On 11 June 2011, Khurtsidze defended his IBO middleweight title against Dionisio Miranda in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, winning by first-round knockout. Khurtsidze knocked his opponent down with a crushing overhand left. Miranda got up but was quickly put on the canvas face down after Khurtsidze caught him with a big left hook. Later that same year, Khurtsidze's title reign ended when he was stripped of his IBO title, due to the sanctioning body not approving of his choice of Ossie Duran as an opponent. Khurtsidze would go on to beat Duran on 18 December 2011 by

majority decision A majority decision (MD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking. In a majority decision, two of the three judges agree on which ...

, with scores of 114-114, 114-113 and 115-113, to capture the vacant

WBC Silver The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...

middleweight title.

Winning streak in 2014-17

Khurtsidze vs. Douglas

After his win against Ossie Duran, Khurtsidze had a layoff of over two and a half years. He finally returned to the ring in July 2014, where he would go on to win four consecutive bouts in the United States by technical knockout, before facing undefeated middleweight prospect Antoine Douglas as a short notice opponent on 5 March 2016, after Douglas' original opponent

Sam Soliman Sam Soliman (born 13 November 1973) is an Australian professional boxer, and former kickboxer and mixed martial artist. In boxing, he held the IBF middleweight title in 2014. Kickboxing career Soliman is a former world champion in kickboxi ...

sustained an injury. Despite being the betting underdog, Khurtsidze relentlessly pressed Douglas all night, dropping him in the third and seventh rounds, and eventually forced the referee to stop the action, winning the bout via tenth-round technical knockout.

Khurtsidze vs. Langford

In early February 2017, Khurtsidze, who was

mandatory challenger In professional boxing and some other combat sports, a mandatory challenger is an opponent whom a champion must either fight or be forced to vacate their title as champion. A mandatory defence is the opposite of a voluntary defence, where the champi ...

for WBO middleweight champion

Billy Joe Saunders Billy Joe Saunders (born 30 August 1989) is a British professional boxer. He is the first fighter from the Travelling community to win world championships in two weight classes, including the WBO middleweight title from 2015 to 2018 and the W ...

, took a step aside fee to allow Saunders to pursue a bigger fight. On 28 February, it was announced that Khurtsidze would face undefeated Tommy Langford for the vacant interim WBO title on 22 April 2017. Langford was ranked #3 by the WBO at middleweight. Khurtsidze connected with a left hook to win the bout by fifth-round technical knockout, bringing his streak of consecutive TKO victories to six, and securing a world title shot against Saunders.

Canceled Saunders fight

The day after Khurtsidze's victory against Tommy Langford, the fight between Khurtsidze and WBO middleweight champion

was announced as taking place at the

Copper Box Arena The Copper Box Arena is a multi-sport venue built for the 2012 Summer Olympics, located in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, England. Previously known as the Handball Arena, it was renamed because, aside from handball, it hosted mo ...

in London on 8 July 2017. However, on 8 June, Khurtsidze was arrested in New York along with 32 others, linking him with a Russian and Georgian crime syndicate. Racketeer charges and conspiracy to commit fraud were the two alleged charges; promoter

Lou DiBella Louis John DiBella Jr. (born May 17, 1960) is an American boxing promoter and television/film producer. Education DiBella is a graduate of Regis High School (New York City). He then continued his education at Tufts University before pursuing ...

said that, while the fight would not be completely called off, it would be postponed. Khurtsidze would ultimately never fight Saunders as he was convicted of racketeering and wire fraud conspiracy and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment in September 2018, effectively bringing his boxing career to an abrupt end.

RICO indictment and incarceration

On 8 June 2017, prosecutors from the US District Court for the Southern District of New York indicted Khurtsidze on charges of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (

RICO The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was en ...

) Act and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a Russian organised crime syndicate operating in the New York City area. According to the indictment, Khurtsidze is alleged to have paid $17,800 for three cases of purportedly stolen cigarettes. On 30 August 2018, it was reported that Khurtsidze had been stabbed in the face in a "stabbing rampage" in a Brooklyn detention center, after members of his crime syndicate Razhden Shulaya were involved in a reported row with a Latin American gang. In September 2018, Khurtsidze was convicted of

and

conspiracy and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment.

Professional boxing record

, - , align="center" colspan=8, 37 fights, 33 wins (22 knockouts), 2 losses (1 knockout), 2 draws , - , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Result , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Record , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Opponent , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Type , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Round, time , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Date , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Location , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Notes , - align=center , Win , 33-2-2 , align=left, Tommy Langford , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , - align=center , Win , 32-2-2 , align=left, Antoine Douglas , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 31-2-2 , align=left, Melvin Betancourt , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 30-2-2 , align=left, Phillip Penson , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 29-2-2 , align=left, Eddie Hunter , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 28-2-2 , align=left, Allen Conyers , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 27-2-2 , align=left, Ossie Duran , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 26-2-2 , align=left, Jason LeHoullier , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 25-2-2 , align=left, Dionisio Miranda , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 24-2-2 , align=left,

, , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 23-2-2 , align=left,

, , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 23-1-2 , align=left,

, , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 22-1-2 , align=left, Mihaly Kotai , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 21-1-2 , align=left, Kuvanych Toygonbayev , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 20-1-2 , align=left, Jamel Bakhi , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 19-1-2 , align=left, Attila Kovacs , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 18-1-2 , align=left, Antonio Valentin Ochoa , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 17-1-2 , align=left, Javier Alberto Mamani , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 16-1-2 , align=left, Ferenc Olah , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 15-1-2 , align=left, Jurijs Boreiko , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 14-1-2 , align=left, Tagir Rzaev , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 13-1-2 , align=left, Volodymyr Borovskyy , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 12-1-2 , align=left, Ruslan Semenov , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 11-1-2 , align=left, Maksym Velychko , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 10-1-2 , align=left, Taras Boyko , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 9-1-2 , align=left, Denis Balandin , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 8-1-2 , align=left, Serhiy Petryk , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 7-1-2 , align=left, Tony Marshall , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 7-0-2 , align=left, Calvin Shakir , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 6-0-2 , align=left, Chris Hall , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , style="background:#abcdef;", Draw , 5-0-2 , align=left, Carlos Antonio Escobar , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 5-0-1 , align=left, Leo Edwards , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 4-0-1 , align=left, Fred Drayton , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 3-0-1 , align=left, Jon Gaddis , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , style="background:#abcdef;", Draw , 2-0-1 , align=left, Orazio Robinson , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 2-0 , align=left, Kenny Kingsley , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 1-0 , align=left, George Kanchaveli , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center

References

External links

*
Avtandil Khurtsidze - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings
a
Box.Live
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khurtsidze, Avtandil Living people Middleweight boxers 1979 births Male boxers from Georgia (country) Sportspeople from Kutaisi Sportspeople convicted of crimes Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act