Paea Wolfgramm
Quick Facts
Biography
Paea Wolfgramm (born December 1, 1969 in Vava'u) is a Tongan retired boxer. Nicknamed "The Tongan Warrior", Wolfgramm won the Super Heavyweight silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics, making him the first athlete from Tonga to win an Olympic medal.
Personal
Wolfgramm has 7 children - 5 boys and 2 girls, and 4 brothers and 2 sisters. He resides in South Auckland New Zealand, where he is a hostel parent at a well-known New Zealand school, Wesley College.
Amateur highlights
- 1994 3rd place at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada.
- Defeated Joseph Saimei (Solomon Islands) RSC 2
- Lost to David Anyim (Kenya) PTS (5-9)
- 1995 won the Oceanian Championships in Nuku'alofa, Tonga.
- 1996 Representing Tonga, Wolfgramm won the Super Heavyweight Silver Medal at the Atlanta Olympics. Results were:
- Defeated Serguei Lyakhovich (Belarus) PTS (10-9)
- Defeated Alexis Rubalcaba (Cuba) PTS (17-12)
- Defeated Duncan Dokiwari (Nigeria) PTS (7-6)
- Lost to Wladimir Klitschko (Ukraine) PTS (3-7)
Professional career
At 6'4" and 325 pounds, the huge Wolfgramm turned pro after the Olympics, but had limited success. He lost a decision to journeyman Marion Wilson in 1998. Although he was able to beat former Cuban Olympian Jorge Luis Gonzalez by decision to set up a fight with Wladimir Klitschko for the vacant WBC International Heavyweight Title, he was beaten in the first round in a rematch of their 1996 Super Heavyweight Olympic finals bout. He later lost a decision to Eliecer Castillo, but beat Jimmy Thunder to set up a fight with Corey Sanders in late 2001. Sanders won via 9th-round TKO, and Wolfgramm announced his retirement shortly after this fight.
Professional boxing record
20 Wins (14 knockouts, 6 decisions), 4 Losses (2 knockouts, 2 decisions)[1] | |||||||
Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes |
Loss | 20-6 | Corey Sanders | TKO | 9 | 08/08/2001 | Grand Victoria Casino, Elgin, Illinois | Referee stopped the bout at 1:54 of the ninth round. |
Win | 35-11 | Jimmy Thunder | TD | 7 | 01/04/2001 | Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada | Bout stopped due to an accidental headbut. 68-63, 67-64, 67-64. |
Loss | 19-1-1 | Elieser Castillo | SD | 12 | 21/10/2000 | Silver Star Casino, Philadelphia, Mississippi | IBO Intercontinental Heavyweight Title. 113-115, 113-115, 118-110. |
Win | 29-9 | Rocky Gannon | TKO | 3 | 21/07/2000 | Regent Resort Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
Loss | 31-1 | Wladimir Klitschko | KO | 1 | 18/03/2000 | Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Alsterdorf, Hamburg | WBC International Heavyweight Title. Wolfgramm knocked out at 1:30 of the first round. |
Win | 19-2 | Calvin Lampkin | UD | 10 | 05/12/1999 | Casino Magic, Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi | 97-94, 99-93, 98-92. |
Win | 20-4-2 | Gerard Jones | UD | 10 | 07/03/1999 | Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona | |
Win | 25-4 | Jorge Luis Gonzalez | MD | 8 | 15/08/1998 | El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas | 76-76, 78-74, 78-74. |
Win | 12-13-2 | Guy Sonnenberg | TKO | 1 | 12/06/1998 | Belle of Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Referee stopped the bout at 1:29 of the first round. |
Loss | 10-25-3 | Marion Wilson | MD | 6 | 09/05/1998 | Trump Taj Majal, Atlantic City, New Jersey | 57-57, 55-59, 56-58. |
Win | 6-14 | Rick Sullivan | TKO | 1 | 21/03/1998 | Max-Schmeling-Halle, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin | |
Win | 4-4 | Kevin Rosier | TKO | 1 | 16/01/1998 | Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey | Referee stopped the bout at 1:12 of the first round. |
Win | 10-1-2 | Billy Eaton | KO | 1 | 20/12/1997 | Reseda Country Club, Reseda, California | Eaton knocked out at 1:29 of the first round. |
Win | 5-2 | Ed White | KO | 1 | 23/09/1997 | Foxwoods, Mashantucket, Connecticut | |
Win | 1-6 | Gerald Brown | TKO | 1 | 23/08/1997 | The Wild Wild West Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
Win | 5-9 | Jessie Henry | TKO | 3 | 09/08/1997 | South Padre Island, Texas | Referee stopped the bout at 2:59 of the third round. |
Win | 3-2-1 | Robert Mitchell | TKO | 1 | 24/05/1997 | Denver, Colorado | |
Win | 4-4-1 | Khoren Indjian | TKO | 2 | 10/05/1997 | MARK of the Quad Cities, Moline, Illinois | Referee stopped the bout at 1:24 of the second round. |
Win | 2-4 | Ronnie "The Bear" Smith | UD | 4 | 03/03/1997 | Austin, Texas | |
Win | 5-4 | Stan Jones | KO | 2 | 14/02/1997 | Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California | |
Win | -- | Momtchil Govedarov | TKO | 1 | 28/01/1997 | Club Rio, Tempe, Arizona | Referee stopped the bout at 1:17 of the first round. |
Win | 1-0 | Orlando Leavall | PTS | 4 | 17/01/1997 | Reseda Country Club, Reseda, California | |
Win | 0-1 | John Foster | TKO | 1 | 11/01/1997 | Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Massachusetts | |
Win | 4-1-1 | Jeff Kirk | KO | 1 | 03/12/1996 | Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California |