Paea Wolfgramm

Paea Wolfgramm (born December 1, 1969) is a Tongan retired boxer. Nicknamed "The Tongan Warrior", Wolfgramm earned the Super Heavyweight silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics, making him the first and only athlete from Tonga to win an Olympic medal.^[1]

Paea Wolfgramm

Wolfgramm in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Paea Wolfgramm
Nickname	The Tongan Warrior
Nationality	Tongan
Born	(1969-12-01) December 1, 1969 (age 54) Vava'u, Tonga
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	140 kg (309 lb)
Sport
Sport	Boxing
Weight class	Super Heavyweight
Medal record Men's amateur boxing Representing  Tonga Olympic Games 1996 Atlanta Super heavyweight Commonwealth Games 1994 Victoria Super heavyweight

Personal

Wolfgramm has 7 children - 5 boys and 2 girls, as well as 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.^[2] 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

24 fights	20 wins	4 losses
By knockout	14	2
By decision	6	2

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
24	Loss	20–4	Corey Sanders	TKO	9 (10), 1:54	8 Aug 2001	Grand Victoria Casino, Elgin, Illinois, U.S.
23	Win	20–3	Jimmy Thunder	TD	7 (10), 3:00	1 Apr 2001	Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
22	Loss	19–3	Eliecer Castillo	SD	12	21 Oct 2000	Silver Star Casino, Philadelphia, Mississippi, U.S.	For vacant IBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title
21	Win	19–2	Rocky Gannon	RTD	3 (8), 3:00	21 Jul 2000	Regent Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
20	Loss	18–2	Wladimir Klitschko	TKO	1 (12), 1:30	18 Mar 2000	Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany	For vacant WBC International heavyweight title
19	Win	18–1	Calvin Lampkin	UD	10	5 Dec 1999	Casino Magic, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, U.S.
18	Win	17–1	Gerard Jones	UD	10	7 Mar 1999	Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
17	Win	16–1	Jorge Luis González	MD	8	15 Aug 1998	County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas, U.S.
16	Win	15–1	Guy Sonnenberg	TKO	1 (8), 1:29	12 Jun 1998	Belle of Baton Rouge Casino, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.
15	Loss	14–1	Marion Wilson	MD	6	9 May 1998	Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
14	Win	14–0	Rick Sullivan	TKO	1 (6)	21 Mar 1998	Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin, Germany
13	Win	13–0	Kevin Rosier	TKO	1 (6), 1:12	16 Jan 1998	Trump Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
12	Win	12–0	Billy Eaton	KO	1 (6), 1:29	20 Dec 1997	Country Club, Reseda, California, U.S.
11	Win	11–0	Ed White	KO	1 (4), 2:15	23 Sep 1997	Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut, U.S.
10	Win	10–0	Gerald Brown	TKO	1 (4)	23 August 1997	Wild Wild West, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
9	Win	9–0	Jessie Henry	TKO	3 (4), 2:59	9 August 1997	South Padre Island, Texas, U.S.
8	Win	8–0	Robert Mitchell	TKO	1 (4)	24 May 1997	Mammoth Events Center, Denver, Colorado, U.S.
7	Win	7–0	Khoren Indjian	TKO	2 (4), 1:24	10 May 1997	MARK of the Quad Cities, Moline, Illinois, U.S.
6	Win	6–0	Ronnie Smith	UD	4	3 Mar 1997	Austin, Texas, U.S.
5	Win	5–0	Stan Jones	KO	2 (6)	14 Feb 1997	Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
4	Win	4–0	Momtchil Govedarov	TKO	1 (4), 1:17	28 Jan 1997	Club Rio, Tempe, Arizona, U.S.
3	Win	3–0	Orlando Leavall	PTS	4	17 Jan 1997	Country Club, Reseda, California, U.S.
2	Win	2–0	John Foster	TKO	1 (4)	11 Jan 1997	Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
1	Win	1–0	Jeff Kirk	KO	1 (4), 0:46	3 Dec 1996	Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California, U.S.	Professional debut

Honours

National honours

• Order of Queen Sālote Tupou III, Member (31 July 2008).^[3]

References

1. "Boxing: Training was not all beer and skittles for Wolgramm". New Zealand Herald. 7 March 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
2. "Bittersweet moment for Pacific Islands first Olympic medalist, Paea Wolfgramm". Matangi Tonga. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
3. "Royal orders presented at Palace". Matangi Tonga. 1 August 2008. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.

External links

• Paea Wolfgramm at BoxRec (registration required)
• Paea Wolfgramm at Olympics.com
• Paea Wolfgramm at Olympedia
• Paea Wolfgramm at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)

Olympic Games
Preceded by Siololovau Ikavuka	Flagbearer for  Tonga Atlanta 1996	Succeeded by Ana Siulolo Liku