Karapet Muradyan ( hy, Կարապետ Մուրադյան; born 2 September 1983), best known as Karo Murat ( hy, Կարո Մուրատ), is a German Armenian professional boxer who held the IBO

light-heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserw ...

title in 2018. At regional level, he held the

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

super-middleweight Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pounds ( ...

title from 2008 to 2009 and the light-heavyweight version in 2017.

Boxing career

Early professional career

Murat made his professional debut in Hessen,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

on 23 September 2006 defeating Matus Sestak. Three more fights during his debut year resulted in three more wins including a victory in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

on 18 November. A very busy 2007 saw Murat fight another eleven times again winning on each occasion and travelling to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and well as fighting a number of times in

. Of his victories during the year, of particular note were wins over Jermain MacKay on 18 August 2007 at the

Max-Schmeling-Halle Max-Schmeling-Halle is a multi-purpose arena, in Berlin, Germany, named after the famous German boxer Max Schmeling. Apart from Mercedes-Benz Arena and the Velodrom, it's one of Berlin's biggest indoor sports arenas and holds from 8,861 people, up ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and Emiliano Cayetano at the Seidensticker Halle in Bielefeld on 29 December 2007. Both fighters had boasted only one defeat so far in their careers with Mackay and Cayetano both former Caribbean champions.

European super middleweight champion

On 16 February 2008, in his first fight of the year, Murat defeated Sergey Kharchenko at the Nuremberg Arena to lift the EBU-EE

super middleweight Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pounds ( ...

title via stoppage in the 10th round. In his next fight, Murat travelled to

Neubrandenburg Neubrandenburg (lit. ''New Brandenburg'', ) is a city in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the shore of a lake called Tollensesee and forms the urban centre of the Mecklenburg Lakeland. The city is famous for its ...

to fight for the full European belt against

Cristian Sanavia Cristian Sanavia (born February 27, 1975) is an Italian former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2014. He held the WBC super middleweight title in 2004. Professional career Sanavia turned pro in 1997 and captured the WBC Super Midd ...

on 12 April 2008, winning with a 12-round unanimous decision. A first defence in Bielefeld on 20 September 2008 resulted in a majority points win over Spain's

Gabriel Campillo Gabriel Campillo (born 19 December 1978) is a Spanish former professional boxer who competed from 2002 to 2015, and held the WBA light-heavyweight title from 2009 to 2010. Professional career Campillo made his professional debut on 2 February ...

before meeting Sanavia again on 28 February 2009. The re-match again in

saw Murat once again come out on top, this time stopping Sanavia in the 10th round and registering a second successful defence of the title.

Light heavyweight

Having achieved success at super middleweight, Murat moved up to

light heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

and fought Serhiy Demchenko to win the vacant

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...

light heavyweight title via unanimous decision on 29 August 2009 in

Halle Halle may refer to: Places Germany * Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt ** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt ** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany ** Hall ...

. His first defence against Guyana's Sean Corbin resulted in a second round stoppage win on 30 January 2010. Murat successfully defended his title once more on 1 May 2010 beating Tommy Karpency over 12 rounds, knocking him down in the second, in Oldenburg, Germany. On 18 September 2010 Murat faced Nathan Cleverly in a WBO light heavyweight title eliminator, losing for the first time in his career by a tenth-round TKO. The bout was waved off by the referee as the 10th round was about to commence, following a doctor's inspection in the corner between rounds. There were no bruises or blood on Karo's face and he was instantly furious at the referee's poor decision. He rebounded from the defeat on 12 February 2011 with an eight-round points win over Christian Cruz and followed this on 7 May 2011 winning the

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

version of the Inter-continental title against American boxer

Otis Griffin Otis Griffin (born August 22, 1977) is an American professional boxer and ranked light heavyweight contender. Professional career Griffin fought on several major undercards and has been featured on ESPN. He captured the NABO light heavyweight ch ...

with an 11th round stoppage. He made his first defence of the title in a rematch against Spaniard

on 1 October 2011 in a fight which was also billed as an IBF title eliminator with the fighters earning a draw, the first of Murat's career. Murat then faced the IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins on 26 October 2013 in Atlantic City, and lost by unanimous decision. On 1 July 2017, Murat upset the previously undefeated Dominic Bösel (24–0) with an eleventh round TKO and won the vacant

EBU The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who are members of the Co ...

light heavyweight title. Murat defeated Travis Reeves by TKO in the 12th round to win the vacant IBO light heavyweight title on 24 March 2018.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Murat, Karo 1983 births Living people Armenian male boxers German male boxers Sportspeople from Yerevan International Boxing Organization champions Light-heavyweight boxers German people of Armenian descent Armenian emigrants to Germany