Dumitru Ștefănescu (September 15, 1909 – June 8, 1936), better known as Gogea Mitu, was a Romanian

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 ...

. Mitu is also listed by the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' as the tallest professional boxer.

Biography

Mitu was born in Mârsani, near

Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...

, in 1909, the oldest of eleven children, his mother being only 16 when she delivered him. Mitu became world-famous because of his enormous stature. He is listed with various heights, among them , , and . Because of these characteristics he was very sought after by doctors and scientists who wanted to know the reason for his

gigantism Gigantism ( el, γίγας, ''gígas'', "giant", plural γίγαντες, ''gígantes''), also known as giantism, is a condition characterized by excessive growth and height significantly above average. In humans, this condition is caused by ove ...

and by people who wanted to profit from his stature. It was said that he was highly intelligent; despite not going to school, he learned to read by himself at the age of three, as he had the stature of a five–six year old child. By age 17 he had become so famous that a circus owner from

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

offered him a job, to be presented as a ''human rarity''. He also presented shows at the Globus Circus in

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

. His circus career was brief, but very fortuitous, because he was spotted by the successful Italian boxer and talent scout Umberto Lancia, who taught Mitu how to box and later became his

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. Gogea Mitu went to

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 ...

to attend the famous ''Paris School for Boxing'' and after graduating he started his boxing career. He also had a brother named Tudorel, but he died at the age of seven. He was tall.

Boxing career

His first boxing match took place on the

Stadionul Venus Venus Stadium was a multi-use stadium in Bucharest. It was the home ground of Venus Bucharest. It held 15,000 people. Venus arena was inaugurated in 1931 as a field dedicated only to football. One of the oldest and most truthful leaders of the c ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

and his opponent was the experienced Italian boxer Saverio Grizzo. Mitu won by knockout in the first round. His second fight was against former Romanian heavyweight champion Dumitru Pavelescu, which Mitu won again by knockout in the first round. It was also Mitu's last fight as a professional boxer.

Death

Returning from

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

to Bucharest by train, he caught a cold and his manager suggested that before going home to Mârșani, he should remain in Bucharest for a few days to recover, but his condition got worse, and he was taken to "Filantropia" Hospital. On June 8, 1936, he died due to

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

at the age of 26.

Professional boxing record

References

External links