Gogea Mitu

Gogea Mitu (born Dumitru Stefanescu; September 15, 1909 – June 8, 1936) was a Romanian professional boxer and the tallest Romanian in history (followed by Ghita Mureșan). Gogea Mitu is also listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the tallest professional boxer.

Mitu was born in Mârsani, near Craiova, 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 2.36 m (7 ft 9 in), 2.42 m (7 ft 11 ⁄₂ in), 2.48 m (8 ft 1 ⁄₂ in) and 2.50 m (8 ft 2 ⁄₂ in).

Because of these characteristics he was very sought after by doctors and scientists who wanted to know the reason for his gigantism 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 offered him a job, to be presented as a human rarity. He also presented shows at the Globus Circus in Monaco. 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. Gogea Mitu went to Paris to attend the famous Paris School for Boxing and after graduating he started his boxing career. He also had a brother named Tudorel, who had the same gigantism as Gogea, but he died at the age of seven. He was 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) tall.

His first boxing match took place on the Stadionul Venus in Bucharest and his opponent was the experienced Italian boxer Severio Gizzo. 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.

Returning from Istanbul 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, where he later got poisoned. On June 8th, 1936, he died due to tuberculosis at the age of 26.