Georgi Kandelaki ( ka, გიორგი კანდელაკი; born April 10, 1974 in Variani,

Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgian SSR; ka, საქართველოს საბჭოთა სოციალისტური რესპუბლიკა, tr; russian: Грузинская Советская Соц� ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

) is a retired

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

of Caucasus Greek descent, and current boxing administrator. He competed in the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, at the

1997 World Amateur Boxing Championships The Men's 1997 World Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Budapest, Hungary from October 18 to October 26. The ninth edition of this competition, a year after the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, ...

he became the first Georgian to win a World Championship, and from 2002 to 2003 held the

World Boxing Union The World Boxing Union (WBU) was a boxing sanctioning body. The original WBU was founded in January 1995 by IBF European representative, boxing journalist, actor and former holder of the title of Britain's heaviest man Jon W. Robinson. It sa ...

heavyweight title.

Early life

Kandelaki was born in the village of Variani and was introduced to boxing by his father, Tarash Kandelaki. In 1991, he completed Variani secondary school, and went on to study at the Gori State University Economics Department.

Amateur career

In 1992 Kandelaki won the Junior World Championships in the heavyweight class, and in 1993 he won the European Championships and reached the final of the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, where he lost by default to

Félix Savón Félix Savón Fabre (born 22 September 1967) is a retired Cuban amateur boxer, who competed from 1980 to 2000. Considered one of the all-time greatest amateur boxers, he became three-time Olympic gold medalist, and the World Champion six times ...

. In the 1995 World Championships, he reached the quarter-finals having beaten Friday Ahunanya, and again lost by default to Félix Savón. Representing

Georgia at the 1996 Summer Olympics Georgia competed in the Summer Olympic Games as an independent nation for the first time at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States. Previously, Georgian athletes competed for the Unified Team at the 1992 Summer Olympics The Unified ...

, he defeated Thompson Garcia and

Wojciech Bartnik Wojciech Stanisław Bartnik (born 2 December 1967 in Olesnica) is a former southpaw boxer from Poland, who won a Light Heavyweight Bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Amateur career *1992 – Bronze Medal (Light Heavyweight) at the ...

before losing to Félix Savón in the quarter-finals. In the European Championships the same year, he lost to Christophe Mendy in the quarter-finals. In 1997, he fought in the super heavyweight class in the

, and defeated Vitali Boot,

Petr Horáček Petr Horáček (born 11 January 1974) is a Czech boxer. He competed in the men's super heavyweight event at the 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and com ...

, Jean-Francois Bergeron and

Sergei Liakhovich Siarhei Piatrovich Liakhovich ( be, Сяргей Пятровіч Ляховіч, Siarhiej Piatrovič Lachovič; russian: Серге́й Петро́вич Ляхо́вич, Sergey Petrovich Lyakhovich; also Siarhiej Piatrovič Liachovič or Siar ...

to reach the final, where he won the title against

Alexis Rubalcaba Alexis Rubalcaba (born September 9, 1972) is a retired boxer from Cuba, who competed in the Super Heavyweight division. He twice represented his native country at the Summer Olympics: in 1996 (where he suffered a shocking loss to Paea Wolfgr ...

Highlights

Soviet Junior Tournament (81 kg), April 1989: * (no data available) International Junior Tournament (91 kg),

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

Georgian SSR The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgian SSR; ka, საქართველოს საბჭოთა სოციალისტური რესპუბლიკა, tr; russian: Грузинская Советская Соц� ...

, December 1990: *1/2: Defeated

Tomasz Bonin Tomasz "The Polish Hammer" Bonin (born 9 November 1973) is a Polish heavyweight boxer. Career Bonin has a professional record of 41-3 but was KO'd twice when stepping up. He won his first 26 professional fights, winning the Polish Internation ...

(Poland) RSC 1 *Finals: Defeated Nikolay Pyatakov (RSFSR) by unanimous decision, 5–0 Ahmet Comert Tournament (91 kg),

Istanbul, Turkey ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_in ...

, May 1992: * (no data available) Junior World Championships (91 kg),

Montreal, Canada Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

, September-October 1992: *1/8: Defeated Robert Geer (United States) 7–0 *1/4: Defeated Ismael Kone (Sweden) 11–1 *1/2: Defeated Peer Mueller (Germany) 6–4 *Finals: Defeated Stephen Gallinger (Canada) 19–2

(91 kg), Tampere, Finland, May 1993: *1/8: Defeated Bert Teuchert (Germany) 10–9 *1/4: Defeated Mikael Höök (Sweden) 7–0 *1/2: Defeated Arshak Avartakyan (Armenia) 7–2 *Finals: Lost to

(Cuba) by walkover European Championships (91 kg),

Bursa, Turkey ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

, September 1993: *1/16: Defeated Peter Saat (Estonia) 8–1 *1/8: Defeated Fyodor Mishko (Belarus) 9–2 *1/4: Defeated Fikret Güneş (Turkey) 4–2 *1/2: Defeated

Georgios Stefanopoulos Georgios Stefanopoulos (; born March 31, 1962 in Peristeri, Attiki) is a former boxer from Greece, who participated in two Summer Olympics for his native country in the men's heavyweight division (– 91 kg), starting in 1984 in Los Angel ...

(Greece) 7–4 *Finals: Defeated Don Diego Poeder (Netherlands) 11–2 Chemistry Cup (91 kg), Halle, Germany, March 1994: *1/2: Lost to Jan Bezvoda (Czech Republic) 1–3

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

(91 kg),

Bangkok, Thailand Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

, June 1994: *1/4: Defeated Friday Ahunanya (Nigeria) 6–4 *1/2: Lost to

(Cuba) 4–19 Chemistry Cup (+91 kg), Halle, Germany, March 1995: *1/2: Defeated

Timo Hoffmann Timo Hoffmann (born 25 September 1974) is a German professional boxer and multiple-time European heavyweight title challenger. He is perhaps best known as being the only fighter for nearly a decade (from 2000 to 2009) to have gone the full dist ...

(Germany) 11–1 *Finals: Lost to

Vitali Klitschko Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of Kyiv World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

(91 kg), Berlin, Germany, May 1995: *1/8: Defeated Jonas Dambrauskas (Lithuania) 4–2 *1/4: Lost to

(Cuba) by walkover 100th Anniversary Tournament (91 kg), Moscow, Russia, October 1995: *Finals: Defeated Sergey Sosnin (Russia) by unanimous decision, 5–0

Strandzha Cup The Strandzha Cup ( bg, Купа Странджа, also spelled Strandja Cup and officially known as the Strandja Memorial) is an international amateur boxing tournament held annually in Bulgaria. It often determines who will qualify to compete at ...

(91 kg), Sofia, Bulgaria, February 1996: *1/4: Defeated Oleg Belikov (Ukraine) 5–2 *1/2: Lost to Christophe Mendy (France) RET 2 European Championships (91 kg),

Vejle, Denmark Vejle () is a city in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality ('' kommune'') and the R ...

, March-April 1996: *1/16: Defeated Gioacchino Mocerino (Italy) 10–6 *1/8: Defeated Sergey Dychkov (Belarus) 7–4 *1/4: Lost to Christophe Mendy (France) 2–7 Summer Olympics (91 kg),

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, July 1996: *1/16: Defeated Thompson García (Ecuador) RET 3 *1/8: Defeated

(Poland) 6–1 *1/4: Lost to

(Cuba) 4–20 Tammer Tournament (+91 kg), Tampere, Finland, September 1997: *1/4: Defeated Rimantas Prišmantas (Lithuania) 3–0 *1/4: Lost to Patrick Halberg (Denmark) 1–6

(+91 kg), Budapest, Hungary, October 1997: *1/16: Defeated Vitali Boot (Germany) 4–2 (5 rds) *1/8: Defeated

(Czech Republic) RSCI 4 *1/4: Defeated Jean-François Bergeron (Canada) 7–3 (5 rds) *1/2: Defeated Sergey Lyakhovich (Belarus) 5–3 (5 rds) *Finals: Defeated

(Cuba) 4–1 (5 rds)

Professional career

In 1998, Kandelaki started boxing as a professional for Panix Promotions. In 2002, he won the

heavyweight title. In 2003, he retired unbeaten because of an eye injury.

Retirement and later life

After his boxing career, Kandelaki founded the Georgian Professional Boxing Association and became its president. He trained boys as boxers in his home village of Variani and other villages. He was mentioned in the book ''The President, the World Champion and I'' by Lali Moroshkina.

Professional boxing record

, - , align="center" colspan=11, 24 Wins (18 knockouts, 6 decisions) , - !No. !Result !Billed
Wgt !Opponent !Opp
Wgt !Opp Record !Type !Round,
time !Date !Location !Notes , - , 24, , Win, , 238, , Alexey Osokin, , 227, , 11–17–1, , TKO, , 3 (6), , 17 Oct 2003, ,

Sports Palace Palace of Sports or Sports Palace (russian: Дворец спорта) is a generic name of comprehensive indoors sports venues introduced in the Soviet Union (compare with Palace of Culture) of big size that includes various sports halls and auxil ...

, Georgia, , , - , 23, , Win, , 237½, , Alexander Vasiliev, , 223, , 15–9–1, , TKO, , 12 (12), , 21 Dec 2002, ,

Yubileyny Sports Palace Jubilee Sports Palace (russian: спортивный комплекс «Юбилейный»), ''Sportivniy kompleks Yubileyniy''; also translated as Jubilee Palace of Sports, is an indoor sports arena and concert complex that is located in St ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Russia, , , - , 22, , Win, , ?, , Eric French, , ?, , 10–24–3, , TKO, , 1 (6), , 21 Sep 2002, , Circus,

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

, Ukraine, , , - , 21, , Win, , 240, , Derek McCafferty, , 246, , 2–6–0, , RTD, , 5 (8), , , 25 May 2002, , Mountbatten Centre,

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, United Kingdom, , , - , 20, , Win, , 236½, , Alexey Varakin, , 218½, , 17–9–2, , TKO, , 1 (8), , , 2 Mar 2002, ,

York Hall The York Hall, officially known as York Hall Leisure Centre, is a multi-purpose indoor arena and leisure complex in Bethnal Green, London, and is situated on Old Ford Road. The building opened in 1929 with a capacity of 1,200 and is now an inte ...

, Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom, , , - , 19, , Win, , 243¾, , Alexey Osokin, , 236, , 9–13–1, , UD, , 6 (6), , 20 Dec 2001, , Giant Hall, Casino Conti,

, Russia, , , - , 18, , Win, , ?, , Ilia Tlashadze, , ?, , 3–0–0, , KO, , 3, , 23 Oct 2001, , Variani, Georgia, , , - , 17, , Win, , 233½, , Sam Ubokane, , 226¾, , 9–1–0, , TKO, , 4 (6), , 29 Jan 2001, , Bushfield Leisure Centre,

Peterborough, Cambridgeshire Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until 19 ...

, United Kingdom, , , - , 16, , Win, , ?, , Joey Guy, , ?, , 27–3–0, , TKO, , 4 (8), , 26 Oct 2000, ,

, Georgia, , , - , 15, , Win, , 231, , Harry Senior, , ?, , 7–8–1, , PTS, , 8 (8), , 13 Jul 2000, ,

, Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom, , , - , 14, , Win, , 225, , Rodney McSwain, , 218, , 7–11–0, , PTS, , 6 (6), , 29 Apr 2000, , The Arena,

Wembley, London Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

, United Kingdom, , , - , 13, , Win, , 220, , Antoine Palatis, , 227¼, , 27–10–2, , PTS, , 8 (8), , 21 Feb 2000, , Elephant & Castle Centre, Southwark, London, United Kingdom, , , - , 12, , Win, , 235¾, , Derek McCafferty, , 238, , 2–2–0, , PTS, , 8 (8), , 18 Dec 1999, , Elephant & Castle Centre, Southwark, London, United Kingdom, , , - , 11, , Win, , 228, , Mark Young, , 242, , 14–36–1, , KO, , 2 (8), , 8 Oct 1999, ,

, Georgia, , , - , 10, , Win, , 224¾, , Kimmuel Odum, , 220, , 17–29–1, , TKO, , 1 (8), , 21 Aug 1999, ,

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city of Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's southwest. It is situated in a subtropical zone at the foot of t ...

, Georgia, , , - , 9, , Win, , 226½, , Spas Spasov, , 211, , 7–6–0, , TKO, , 1 (8), , , 15 Jul 1999, , Werrington Sports Centre,

, United Kingdom, , , - , 8, , Win, , 225¾, , Yuriy Yelistratov, , 226¼, , 19–10–1, , KO, , 1 (6), , , 22 Jun 1999, , Corn Exchange,

Ipswich, Suffolk Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

, United Kingdom, , , - , 7, , Win, , 228¾, , Emile Ramon, , 224¾, , 4–4–0, , TKO, , 1 (6), , , 22 May 1999, , Maysfield Leisure Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, , , - , 6, , Win, , 230½, , Laszlo Paszterko, , 219¼, , 15–31–4, , TKO, , 2 (6), , , 24 Apr 1999, , Planet Ice Rink,

, United Kingdom, , , - , 5, , Win, , 231½, , Johnny Davison, , 203, , 0–9–0, , TKO, , 2 (6), , , 6 Mar 1999, , Elephant & Castle Centre, Southwark, London, United Kingdom, , , - , 4, , Win, , 231¾, , Ladislav Husarik, , 273, , 5–19–1, , PTS, , 6 (6), , 6 Feb 1999, , North Bridge Leisure Centre,

Halifax, Yorkshire Halifax () is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It is the commercial, cultural and administrative centre of the borough, and the headquarters of Calderdale Council. In the 15th cen ...

, United Kingdom, , , - , 3, , Win, , 231, , Jean Marie Naandu, , 201, , 4–9–0, , KO, , 1 (6), , , 12 Dec 1998, ,

Northgate Arena Northgate or North Gate may refer to: Historical structures * Northgate, Chester, part of the city wall, in Cheshire, England * St Michael at the North Gate, a church in Oxford, England Places * Northgate, Gauteng, South Africa Australia * Nor ...

Chester, Cheshire Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Local ...

, United Kingdom, , , - , 2, , Win, , 234¾, , Steven Archie, , 241, , , , TKO, , 2 (4), , 26 Sep 1998, ,

Mohegan Sun Casino Mohegan Sun is an American casino, owned and operated by the Mohegan Tribe on of their reservation, along the banks of the Thames River in Uncasville, Connecticut. It has of gambling space. It is in the foothills of southeastern Connecticut, ...

Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a village in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ea ...

, USA, , , - , 1, , Win, , 242½, , Shane Woollas, , 232, , 8–10–0, , TKO, , 2 (4), , , 2 Jul 1998, , Corn Exchange,

, United Kingdom, ,

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 2-2 ,

Mitsuya Nagai , better known as , is a Japanese mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and former kickboxer. He is known for his work in Fighting Network RINGS and later in professional wrestling companies like Battlarts and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJ ...

, KO , RINGS - Mega Battle Tournament 1993: Second Round , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 7:19 ,

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, , - , Loss , align=center, 1-2 , Yoshihisa Yamamoto , Decision , RINGS - Battle Dimension: Osaka Metropolitan Circuit II , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Nagoya, Japan is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 1-1 , Vladimir Kravchuk , KO , RINGS - Mega Battle Tournament 1992: Semi-Finals , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:38 ,

, , - , Loss , align=center, 0-1 , Hans Nijman , KO , RINGS - Mega Battle Tournament 1992: First Round , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 0:35 ,

, , -

References

External links

*
history

at BoxingRecords.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Kandelaki, Georgi 1974 births Living people Georgian people of Greek descent Male boxers from Georgia (country) Heavyweight boxers Super-heavyweight boxers Boxers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers of Georgia (country) World boxing champions People from Shida Kartli AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists Recipients of the Presidential Order of Excellence