Michał Cieślak is a Polish

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 fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

. He has challenged for the WBC cruiserweight title in 2020 and the

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 Boxin ...

cruiserweight title in February 2022. As of June 2020, he is ranked as the world's eighth best active cruiserweight by the

Transnational Boxing Rankings Board The Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB) is an all-volunteer initiative formed in October 2012 with the intention of providing professional boxing with top-ten rankings, identifying the singular world champion of every division and to ins ...

, ninth by

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and tenth by ''

The Ring The Ring may refer to: Arts and entertainment *The Ring (franchise), ''The Ring'' (franchise), a Japanese horror media franchise Literature * ''The Ring'', a 1967 novel by Richard Chopping * ''The Ring'', a 1988 book by Daniel Keys Moran * ''The R ...

''.

Professional career

Cieślak made his professional debut on 29 June 2013, scoring a four-round

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighte ...

(UD) victory over Lukasz Zygmunt at the Amfiteatr in

Ostróda Ostróda (; Old Prussian language, Old Prussian: ''Austrāti'') is a town in northern Poland, in the historic region of Masuria. It is the seat of the Ostróda County within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship and has approximately 33,191 inhabitant ...

, Poland. All three judges scored the bout 39–36. After compiling a record of 8–0 (4 KOs) he defeated Jarno Rosberg on 22 August 2015 at the Amfiteatr in

Międzyzdroje Międzyzdroje (; ), historically known as Misdroy in English, is a city and a seaside resort in northwestern Poland on the island of Wolin on the Baltic coast. The city is located in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, and is a seat of the Kamień C ...

, Poland, capturing the vacant Republic of Poland Youth International cruiserweight title via first-round

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

(KO). Cieślak was booked to face Shawn Cox on 26 September 2015, on the undercard of a

Polsat Sport Polsat Sport 1 () is a Polish sports channel owned by Polsat. It launched on 11 August 2000 and is available via satellite on Polsat Box. Polsat Sport 1 HD Polsat Sport 1 HD is a sports channel owned by Polsat, which broadcasts in High Defini ...

pay per view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

broadcast card. He won the fight by a first-round knockout, stopping Cox before the midway point of the opening round. Cieślak face another journeyman, Hamza Wandera, on 27 November 2015. He made quick work of his opponent, as he won the fight by a second-round technical knockout. Cieślak faced the one-time WBC cruiserweight title challenger Francisco Palacios on 2 April 2016. He won the fight by a fourth-round technical knockout. A month later, on 28 May 2016, Cieślak faced Alexander Kubich. He won the fight by a ninth-round technical knockout. Cieślak faced Iluian Ilie on 17 September 2016, and won the fight by a second-round technical knockout. Cieślak faced Nikodem Jezewski for the vacant IBF Baltic, and Republic of Poland cruiserweight titles on 10 December 2016 at the Hala Orbita in

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

, Poland. Cieślak defeated Jezewski via third-round

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

(TKO). On 9 January it was revealed both fighters had failed their respective drug tests. They were both subsequently suspended for one year with Cieślak's win being overturned and ruled a

no contest ''Nolo contendere'' () is a type of legal plea used in some jurisdictions in the United States. It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. It is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an ...

(NC). He returned to action in October 2017, scoring a UD victory against Ivica Bacurin. Cieślak secured another three wins, two by stoppage, before facing Ilunga Makabu for the vacant WBC cruiserweight title on 31 January 2020 at the Temporary Arena in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

, Democratic Republic of The Congo. Cieślak suffered the first defeat of his career, losing by UD, with the scorecards reading 116–111, 115–111 and 114–112. Following his failed title bid, Cieślak was booked to face Taylor Mabika. The fight was scheduled as the main event of a PolSat Sport broadcast card on 5 December 2020. He successfully bounced back from his first professional loss with a sixth-round technical knockout of Mabika. Cieślak was next scheduled to face Yury Kashinsky on 15 May 2021. He won the fight by a first-round technical knockout. Cieślak is scheduled to challenge the reigning

cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie in the main event of a

DAZN DAZN (; pronounced "da zone") is a British Over-the-top media service, over-the-top sports Sports broadcasting, streaming and entertainment platform. Founded in 2007 as Perform Group via the merger of Premium TV Limited and Inform Group, it is o ...

broadcast card on 27 February 2022.

Professional boxing record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cieslak, Michal Living people Polish male boxers Cruiserweight boxers Sportspeople from Radom Martial artists from Masovian Voivodeship 1989 births