Erik Skoglund (born 24 May 1991) is a Swedish

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 ...

Amateur career

Skoglund started his boxing career in 2002, at the age of 11. He won the Swedish youth national championship in 2006 and the junior championship in 2007, as well as taking the second place at senior level the same year 2007, at the age of 15. In 2008 he again finished in second place on the senior national championship, after losing the final to fellow rising star and future world champion Badou Jack. He also won the Nordic junior championship that year. In 2009 he won the national and Nordic championships at senior level. He turned professional in 2010, after an amateur career with a record of 78-35-1.

Professional boxing career

Light-heavyweight

Early career

Skoglund signed with Sauerland Promotion at the start of his career. Skoglund had 15 fights between his February 2010 debut and February 2013, all held in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. He was victorious in all of them, 9 by KO/TKO and 6 by decision. In his 16th fight, Skoglund got his first opportunity for a championship, when he faced fellow undefeated prospect Luke Blackledge (13-0-1, 5 KO's) on April 13, 2013, for both the WBC Youth World

light heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

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 ...

Youth Intercontinental

titles. He won the fight by unanimous decision (96-95, 97–93, 96–94). Skoglund then took on Lorenzo Di Giacomo in an 8-round non-title fight, on June 15, 2013. Skoglund won the fight by unanimous decision (80-72, 80–72, 80–72).

European Union light heavyweight champion

On October 19, 2013, Skoglund fought veteran Lolenga Mock for the

EBU The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...

-EU

title. Initially Skoglund's opponent was expected to be

Enzo Maccarinelli Enzo Maccarinelli (born 20 August 1980) is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2016. He held the World Boxing Organisation (WB0) cruiserweight title from 2006 to 2008. At regional level, he held the European and Briti ...

. However, Maccarinelli was injured and had to be replaced by Mock. Despite being caught and wobbled against the ropes in the third round, Skoglund recovered fast and rallied back to win the fight by unanimous decision (118-110, 117–110, 116–112) after 12 rounds. In his first defense of his European title, Skoglund took on Adasat Rodriguez on February 1, 2014. After a dominant performance, and well ahead on the scorecards, Skoglund won the fight by TKO in round 12. Skoglund's second title defense came against Danilo D’Agata on April 12, 2014. He won the fight by TKO in round 9. On September 13, 2014, Skoglund fought Stefano Abatangelo for his third defense of his European title as well as for the vacant IBF Inter-Continental

title. He was victorious by unanimous decision (118-109, 120–106, 118–108). After three successful title defenses, Skoglund vacated his

-EU title in October, 2013, to pursue a world title.

International titles

On December 13, 2014, Skoglund faced veteran Glen Johnson in a non-title fight. He won the fight by unanimous decision after 10 rounds (97-93, 98–92, 97–93). In February, 2015 it was revealed that Skoglund was set to undergo surgery for a back injury, which would put him out from competition for six months. Skoglund returned to defend his IBF Inter-Continental

title against Oleksandr Cherviak on September 19, 2015. This marked the first time in his pro career that Skoglund fought in his native

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. This was also the first time a male boxing fight for a major title took place in Sweden since the ban on professional boxing in 1969, which was lifted in 2006. Skoglund defended his title by unanimous decision (120-108, 120–108, 119–109). He fought Derek Edwards in a 10-round non-title fight on December 19, 2015, which he won by unanimous decision (99-92, 100–90, 99–91). On April 23, 2016, Skoglund fought

Ryno Liebenberg Ryno Liebenberg (born 12 December 1983) is a South African professional boxer. Professional boxing record References

, South African male boxers 1983 births Living people African Boxing Union champions Light-heavyweight boxers Super- ...

(17-2, 11 KO's) for the vacant IBO International

title. He won the fight by unanimous decision (117-111, 117–111, 115–113). In his next fight, Skoglund fought for another minor belt, the vacant WBA International

title, against Shpetim Shala (21-1-1, 8 KO's). The bout was first expected to take place on October 28, 2016, but was later postponed to December 9, 2016. Skoglund won the fight by knockout, after dropping Shala three times, all in round 11.

Super-middleweight

World Boxing Super Series

On 28 July 2017, it was confirmed that Skoglund would drop down to

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 ( ...

to join the inaugural World Boxing Super Series, where the winner would receive a prize money and the Muhammad Ali Trophy. Other participants in the tournament included WBA champion George Groves, IBO champion Chris Eubank Jr., WBC #1 contender

Callum Smith Callum John Smith (born 23 April 1990) is a British professional boxer. He has held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) interim light-heavyweight title since February 2025. Previously, he held the World Boxing Association (WBA) (Super versi ...

, former world title holder Juergen Braehmer and undefeated contenders Robert Brant,

Avni Yildirim Avni may refer to: Given name * Avni Akgün, Turkish long jumper * Avni Akyol (1931–1999), Turkish educator and politician * Avni Arbaş (1919–2003), Turkish artist * Avni bej Delvina, a signatory of the Albanian Declaration of Independence ...

and Jamie Cox.

=Skoglund vs. Smith

= At the draft Gala, which took place at the famous Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, Skoglund was chosen by

(22-0, 17 KO's) in the quarter-finals. Smith, who was second-seeded for the tournament, said he felt Skoglund was 'stylistically the best fight' for him. Smith also admitted that, on paper, Skoglund was the best boxer he had been scheduled against. The fight was the inaugural bout of the super middleweight tournament. The WBC announced that the fight would be for their

Diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

belt. The fight took place on September 16, 2017, at

Echo Arena Liverpool Arena, known for sponsorship reasons as the M&S Bank Arena and previously the Echo Arena, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the city centre of Liverpool, England. The venue hosts live music, comedy performances and sporting events, ...

in Smith's hometown,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. Smith beat Skoglund by unanimous decision to win one of four quarter-finals in front of his home crowd in Liverpool. The officials scored the fight 116–112, 117–110 and 117–111 all in favor of Smith. Early on, the fight appeared to be a mismatch with Smith outclassing his opponent. However, Skoglund got himself into the fight in the middle rounds behind his consistent jab and head movement, giving Smith a bloody nose. Smith would make his own surge late in the fight, scoring a knockdown in round 11 and earning a unanimous decision.

Injury

In November 2017,

Matchroom Boxing Matchroom Sport is a UK-based sporting event promotions company founded by Barry Hearn and run by him and his son Eddie Hearn. It first came to attention in the sports of snooker and boxing and is also involved in pool, bowling, golf, fishin ...

announced that Skoglund would face Commonwealth champion

Rocky Fielding Michael "Rocky" Fielding (born 5 August 1987) is a British former professional boxer. He held the WBA (Regular) super-middleweight title in 2018. At regional level, he held the Commonwealth super-middleweight title twice between 2013 and 2017, ...

(25-1, 14 KO's) on December for the WBC Silver super middleweight title, in the undercard of Tony Bellew vs. David Haye II. The event was scrapped after Haye suffered an injury. On 8 December 2017, Skoglund suffered a brain hemorrhage during a sparring session in his hometown, Nyköping. He was put into a medically induced coma and had surgery. Skoglund was awakened from the coma in January 2018 and was seen responsive and walking with the help of a crutch. A tweet was posted to his Twitter account which read "Finally back where I belong. Thanks for all the support I really need it. Will speak more about what happened when I’m ready." Skoglund will undergo extensive, long-term rehab. The incident is being investigated by the Swedish Work Environment Authority. Professional boxing is under strict supervision in Sweden and was banned until 2006. In June, 2019, Skoglund appeared in London as a corner man for his teammate Anthony Yigit who was fighting on June 28. Skoglund had also been in Yigit's corner in Frankfurt a month earlier. In an interview Skoglund gave an update on his health status, claiming that he was back in fitness training and rehabilitation, doing better each day, even if he still didn't feel completely recovered.

Professional boxing record

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, UD , 12 , 16 Sep 2017 , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", , - , 26 , Win, , 26–0, , align=left, Shpetim Shala , KO , 11 (12), , 9 Dec 2016 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 25 , Win, , 25–0, , align=left,

Ryno Liebenberg Ryno Liebenberg (born 12 December 1983) is a South African professional boxer. Professional boxing record References

, South African male boxers 1983 births Living people African Boxing Union champions Light-heavyweight boxers Super- ...

, UD , 12 , 23 Apr 2016 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 24 , Win, , 24–0, , align=left, Derek Edwards , UD , 10 , 19 Dec 2015 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 23 , Win, , 23–0, , align=left, Oleksandr Cherviak , UD , 12 , 19 Sep 2015 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 22 , Win, , 22–0, , align=left, Glen Johnson , UD , 10 , 13 Dec 2014 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 21 , Win, , 21–0, , align=left, Stefano Abatangelo , UD , 12 , 13 Sep 2014 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 20 , Win, , 20–0, , align=left, Danilo D'Agata , TKO , 9 (12), , 12 Apr 2014 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 19 , Win, , 19–0, , align=left, Adasat Rodriguez , TKO , 12 (12), , 1 Feb 2014 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 18 , Win, , 18–0, , align=left, Lolenga Mock , UD , 12 , 19 Oct 2013 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 17 , Win, , 17–0, , align=left, Lorenzo Di Giacomo , UD , 8 , 15 Jun 2013 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 16 , Win, , 16–0, , align=left, Luke Blackledge , UD , 10 , 13 Apr 2013 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 15 , Win, , 15–0, , align=left, Attila Baran , TKO , 2 (10), , 9 Feb 2013 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 14 , Win, , 14–0, , align=left, Joe Ainscough , TKO , 3 (8), , 8 Dec 2012 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 13 , Win, , 13–0, , align=left, Gyorgy Marosi , TKO , 1 (8), , 10 Nov 2012 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 12 , Win, , 12–0, , align=left, Ivan Maslov , UD , 8 , 22 Sep 2012 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 11 , Win, , 11–0, , align=left, Fouad Nasri , KO , 2 (6), , 2 Jun 2012 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 10 , Win, , 10–0, , align=left, Pablo Sosa , UD , 8 , 19 May 2012 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 9 , Win, , 9–0, , align=left, Alberto Antenucci , KO , 2 (8), , 21 Apr 2012 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 8 , Win, , 8–0, , align=left, Juan Nelongo , KO , 4 (6), , 18 Feb 2012 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 7 , Win, , 7–0, , align=left, Amine Blali , UD , 4 , 3 Dec 2011 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 6 , Win, , 6–0, , align=left, Volodymyr Borovskyy , UD , 6 , 7 May 2011 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 5 , Win, , 5–0, , align=left, Valerijs Rogozins , TKO , 1 (4), , 12 Feb 2011 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 4 , Win, , 4–0, , align=left, Mile Nikolic , TKO , 1 (4), , 18 Dec 2010 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 3 , Win, , 3–0, , align=left, Vladimir Spasojevic , UD , 4 , 20 Nov 2010 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 2 , Win, , 2–0, , align=left, Sladko Cizicz , KO , 2 (4), , 15 May 2010 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 1 , Win, , 1–0 , align=left, Istvan Laboda , UD , 4 , 1 May 2010 , align=left, , align=left,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Skoglund, Erik Living people 1991 births Swedish male boxers Super-middleweight boxers 21st-century Swedish sportsmen People from Södertälje Municipality Sportspeople from Stockholm County