Eckhard Dagge (February 27, 1948 in Probsteierhagen,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

– April 4, 2006 in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

), was a professional boxer in the

super welterweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the IBF or super welterweight in the WBA a ...

(154 lb) division. Eckhard Dagge was Germany's second world champion, after

Max Schmeling Maximilian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling (, ; 28 September 1905 – 2 February 2005) was a German boxer who was heavyweight champion of the world between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in 1936 and 1938 were worldwide cultural ev ...

, holding the World Boxing Council Light Middleweight title from 1976 to 1977. Dagge also held German National and European titles, during his ten-year career.

Background

Dagge was born in Probsteierhagen,

, near

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland pe ...

in 1946. He learned to fight in the bars and taverns of

. He would later embark on an amateur career, in which he won 66 out of 80 bouts, before falling short of making the 1972 Olympic Team.

Professional career

Dagge would win the German Middleweight title, in his 6th bout. Dagge would follow up with wins over notable, but faded fighters

Denny Moyer Denny Moyer (August 8, 1939 – June 30, 2010) was an American boxer who held the world light middleweight title between 1962 and 1963. He finished his career with a 98–38–4 record. Early life Moyer was born in Portland, Oregon, and attende ...

and Manuel González. In 1974, Dagge challenged

Jose Manuel Duran Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...

for the European Light Middleweight title, losing by 11th-round TKO. He came back the next year however, and stopped Duran in the 9th round, to win the title. He would defend this title once, before he lost it by decision to Vito Antuofermo. Dagge earned a title shot against WBC Light Middleweight champion Elisha Obed on June 17, 1976. Dagge pulled off a stunning upset of Obed, winning by 10th-round TKO, to win the title in Berlin. Dagge was scheduled to defend his title against

Sugar Ray Seales "Sugar" Ray Seales, (born September 4, 1952) is an American former boxer. He was the only American boxer to win a gold medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics. As a professional, he fought middleweight champion Marvin Hagler three times. He is also th ...

. However Seales pulled out a of the fight and former champion

Emile Griffith Emile Alphonse Griffith (February 3, 1938 – July 23, 2013) was a professional boxer from the U.S. Virgin Islands who won world titles in three weight divisions. He held the world light middleweight, undisputed welterweight, and middleweight t ...

stepped in as a replacement. The result was Dagge winning a controversial majority decision. He followed this up with a draw over England's Maurice Hope, a future world champion. Dagge then faced Australia-based Italian Rocky Mattioli on August 6, 1977, and was knocked out in the 5th round. Dagge would win six more bouts over lesser opposition until he was stopped by Brian Anderson in 1981.

Professional boxing record

Life after boxing

Dagge had a reputation as a wild man during his career and afterwards, as he struggled with alcoholism. Dagge worked with Universum after his pro career ended, training Dariusz Michalczewski,

Michael Loewe Michael Arthur Nathan Loewe (born 2 November 1922) is a British Sinologist, historian, and writer who has authored dozens of books, articles, and other publications in the fields of Classical Chinese as well as the history of ancient and ear ...

, and Mario Schiesser. However, he was fired from his job as a manager in 1994, due to absenteeism and his problems with alcoholism. Dagge died on April 4, 2006 in Hamburg, Germany, after a battle with cancer.

References

External links