Mike Mollo (born February 11, 1980) is an American 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 ...

. A fan favorite for his aggressive style in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Mollo is perhaps best known for his bouts with

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

fighters

Art Binkowski Artur "Art" Binkowski (; born February 19, 1975) is a Polish-born Canadian heavyweight boxer who competed for his adoptive country Canada at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Background Binkowski came to Canada from Poland at th ...

Artur Szpilka Artur Szpilka (; born 12 April 1989) is a Polish professional boxer and mixed martial artist. He has challenged once for the WBC heavyweight title in 2016. He holds a notable win over former two-weight world champion Tomasz Adamek. Profession ...

Andrew Golota Andrzej Jan Gołota (; born 5 January 1968), best known as Andrew Golota, is a Polish former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2013. He challenged four times for a heavyweight world title (by all four major sanctioning bodies), and as ...

, and

Krzysztof Zimnoch Krzysztof Zimnoch (born 6 September 1983) is a Polish professional heavyweight boxer affiliated to the Hetman Białystok Boxing Club. He holds an amateur win over former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. Professional career Zimnoch mad ...

. He was managed by

Darnell Nicholson Danell Nicholson (born November 15, 1967) is a former American Olympian and a boxer in the heavyweight division. He held the IBO World Heavyweight title in 1994, and in 2003 challenged Wladimir Klitschko for the WBA Intercontinental Heavyweight ...

Background

Born into a working class Italian family in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

's south suburbs, Mollo got into numerous scuffles on the streets of his neighborhood. Already 230 pounds as a 14-year-old, he was quickly taken to the local boxing club to hone his skills, and apply his energy in a more constructive manner.

Professional career

After a brief amateur career, "Merciless" Mike Mollo made his professional debut on June 25, 2000, scoring a first-round knockout over Terry Coffin in

Elgin, Illinois Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook and Kane counties in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. Elgin is located northwest of Chicago, along the Fox River. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 114,797, the seventh-large ...

. Over the following years, Mollo built his professional record while also working full-time as a bricklayer and tuckpointer. Wildly popular with Chicago fight fans, Mollo used his hard-punching, aggressive style to win 19 of his first 20 professional bouts. His first loss was to heavyweight contender

DaVarryl Williamson DaVarryl Jerome Williamson (born July 25, 1968) is an American former professional boxer. A highly-touted amateur, he challenged once for the IBF world heavyweight title in 2005. Early and personal life Williamson was raised in poverty in the i ...

. On October 7, 2006, Mollo scored his biggest win, knocking out

Kevin McBride Kevin Martin McBride (born 10 May 1973) is an Irish former professional boxerMcBr ...

(best known for defeating

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is cons ...

) by a TKO 30 seconds into the second round. After a second-round TKO of

, Mollo faced 40-year old former world title challenger

. Mollo lost via unanimous decision. One of more Mollo's more high-profile matchups was his two bouts against then-undefeated and future WBC world title challenger

. Despite being a heavy underdog in the first fight and not having competed for two years prior to the bout, Mollo was able to knock down Szpilka before being knocked out in the sixth round. The two faced off again six months later, with Mollo again knocking Szpilka down early in the match before being finished in the fifth round via TKO. Three years after his second loss to Szpilka, Mollo faced another

fighter,

. In a significant upset, Mollo knocked out the 18-0-1 Zimnoch in the first round to win the vacant Republic of Poland International Heavyweight title. From this win, Mollo earned a shot at

Andriy Rudenko Andriy Volodymyrovych Rudenko ( uk, Андрій Володимирович Руденко, born 4 September 1983) is a Ukrainian professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxin ...

's WBC Silver International Heavyweight title. Mollo was defeated via unanimous decision. Mollo then faced off against

in a rematch from the year before. Mollo lost the rematch via corner stoppage. On March 1, 2017, Mollo officially announced his retirement from professional boxing.

Influences

Early in his career, Mollo gained the support of

Rocky Marciano Rocco Francis Marchegiano (September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969; ), better known as Rocky Marciano (, ), was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955, and held the world heavyweight title from 1952 to 1956. He is the only ...

’s family. "I understand that Mike wants to emulate Rocky both in and out of the ring", noted Peter Marciano, younger brother of the "Brockton Blockbuster". Mollo remembers Marciano well. "I grew up watching fight films of Rocky Marciano. Both of our families came from

Naples, Italy Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, so Rocky was a hero to my family. My strength and conditioning coach Joe Wright gave me a rare book written by Rocky called 'The Use of the Body'. Joe found this book in 1967 while he was somewhere in England. I’ve been reading it and it’s a masterpiece." Mollo continued, "I can’t be Rocky, but I’m truly honored to have the support of the Marciano family. I hope to make them proud."Mike Mollo Signs With DKP
East Side Boxing, April 20, 2006.

Personal life

Mollo is married with children and resides in the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, South Suburbs,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

area. He currently works in a variety of jobs, including running a boxing course and gym.

Professional boxing record

, style="text-align:center;" colspan="9", 29 fights, 21 wins (13 knockouts), 7 losses (4 knockouts), 1 draw , - style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;" , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Result , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Record , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Opponent , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Type , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Round, time , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Date , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Location , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Notes , -align=center , 29 , Loss , 21-7-1 , align=left,

, TKO , (7) 10, 3:00 , 25 Feb 2017 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 28 , Loss , 21-6-1 , align=left,

, TD , (7) 12 , 6 May 2016 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 27 , Win , 21-5-1 , align=left,

, KO , 1 (10), 2:08 , 20 Feb 2016 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 26 , Loss , 20-5-1 , align=left,

, TKO , 5 (10), 1:41 , 13 Aug 2013 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 25 , Loss , 20-4-1 , align=left,

, KO , 6 (8), 2:45 , 01 Feb 2013 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 24 , style="background:#abcdef;", Draw , 20-3-1 , align=left, Gary Gomez , MD , 8 , 06 Aug 2010 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 23 , Win , 20–3 , align=left, Billy Zumbrun , UD , 8 , 26 Mar 2010 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 22 , Loss , 19–3 , align=left,

Jameel McCline Jameel McCline (born May 20, 1970) is an American former professional boxer. He challenged for the world heavyweight title on an unprecedented four occasions, losing all four attempts to Wladimir Klitschko, Chris Byrd, Nikolai Valuev and Samuel ...

, UD , 12 , 07 Nov 2008 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 21 , Loss , 19–2 , align=left,

, UD , 12 , 19 Jan 2008 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 20 , Win , 19–1 , align=left,

, TKO , 2 (10), 1:25 , 13 Oct 2007 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 19 , Win , 18–1 , align=left, Zack Page , UD , 8 , 02 Mar 2007 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 18 , Win , 17–1 , align=left,

Kevin McBride Kevin Martin McBride (born 10 May 1973) is an Irish former professional boxerMcBr ...

, TKO , 2 (12), 0:44 , 08 Oct 2006 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 17 , Win , 16–1 , align=left, Willie Walker , KO , 1 (6), 0:25 , 25 Aug 2006 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 16 , Loss , 15–1 , align=left,

, TKO , 4 (10), 2:59 , 6 May 2006 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 15 , Win , 15–0 , align=left, Rogerio Lobo , KO , 6 (12), 2:48 , 04 Nov 2005 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 14 , Win , 14–0 , align=left, Troy Weida , TKO , 1 (10), 1:31 , 13 Jul 2005 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 13 , Win , 13–0 , align=left, Shawn Robinson , TKO , 1 (6), 2:51 , 27 Apr 2005 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 12 , Win , 12–0 , align=left, Eric French , UD , 4 , 15 Jun 2004 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 11 , Win , 11–0 , align=left, Siarhei Dychkou , , , 28 Mar 2003 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 10 , Win , 10–0 , align=left, Brian McIntyre , KO , 1 (4), 1:55 , 15 Mar 2003 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 9 , Win , 9–0 , align=left, Jessie Tucker , UD , 6 , 27 Nov 2002 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 8 , Win , 8–0 , align=left, Marcelo Aravena , UD , 4 , 17 Nov 2002 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 7 , Win , 7–0 , align=left, Louis Parker , KO , 1 (4), 0:36 , 27 Sep 2002 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 6 , Win , 6–0 , align=left, John Clark , UD , 4 , 10 Aug 2002 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 5 , Win , 5–0 , align=left, Donnie Penelton , UD , 4 , 21 Nov 2001 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 4 , Win , 4–0 , align=left, Nathan Crawford , KO , 1 (4), 1:00 , 17 Oct 2001 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 3 , Win , 3–0 , align=left, Calvin Miller , KO , 1 (4), 0:38 , 16 Feb 2001 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 2 , Win , 2–0 , align=left, Joe Helton , KO , 1 (4), 0:19 , 20 Aug 2000 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 1 , Win , 1–0 , align=left, Terrence Coffin , KO , 1 (4), 2:03 , 25 Jun 2000 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center

References

External links

*
Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mollo, Mike 1980 births Living people Heavyweight boxers Boxers from Chicago American male boxers American people of Italian descent