Leonard Dorin Doroftei (, also known as ''Leonard Dorin''; born 10 April 1970) is a

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

former

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, the WBA

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

World Champion from 5 January 2002 to 24 October 2003.

Amateur highlights

Doroftei took up boxing at the age of 14 at the Ploieşti boxing club. From 1983 to 1984, he won every

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n national junior title. He went on to win four national senior titles in 1992–1994 and 1997. He won bronze medals at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. In addition, he was declared World Champion in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

and European Champion in 1996. His record as an amateur was 239 victories and 15 defeats.Leonard Doroftei

Romanian Olympic Committee The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (, COSR) is responsible for Romania's participation in the Olympic Games. History The Romanian Olympic Committee () was formed in 1914 in Bucharest. In 2004 it changed its name to ''Romanian Olympic an ...

Olympic results

1992 (as a

Light Welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

) * Defeated Edgar Ruiz (

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

) 24–4 * Defeated Arlo Chavez (

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

) 15–1 * Defeated Peter Richardson (

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

) points * Lost to Mark Leduc (

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

) 6–32 1996 (as a

) * Defeated Julio Mboumba (

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

) RSC 23 (1:46) * Defeated Sergey Kopenkin (

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

) 23–1 * Defeated

Koba Gogoladze Koba Gogoladze (born January 7, 1973, in Poti, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti) is a professional boxer from Georgia. He competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics as a lightweight, losing on points in the quarterfinals to Leonard Doroftei. Olympic career ...

(

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

) 23–8 * Lost to

Hocine Soltani Hocine Soltani (December 1972 – March 2002) was an Algerian boxer, who won two Olympic medals. In 1992, the southpaw placed third in the featherweight division (54–57 kg), and at the 1996 Summer Olympics he won the gold medal in the l ...

(

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

) 32–9

Professional career

In 1997, Doroftei turned professional, signing with the

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

club Interbox. Throughout his career, Dorin competed on ESPN, Showtime, and HBO. On 5 January 2002 he won the WBA world

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

title, winning in a thrilling split decision over

Argentinian Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

boxer

Raul Horacio Balbi Raul, Raúl, Raül, and Raüll are forms of a common first name in Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan. The name is cognate of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph and the French R ...

112–115, 114–113, 115–112. On 31 May the two fought again in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

; this time, Dorin scored a knockdown en route to a clear cut unanimous decision victory, 118–111, 117–112 and 118–110. A

title unification bout on 17 May 2003 with

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

boxer

Paul Spadafora Paul Ross Spadafora (born September 5, 1975) is an American retired professional boxer. He is the former IBF lightweight champion of the world, and has challenged once for a light welterweight world title. In 2020, he was inducted into the Penns ...

, the IBF champion, ended in a draw, 114–114, 115–113, 114–115. The bout took place in Spadafora's hometown of Pittsburgh, and Dorin was a significant underdog. However, Dorin seemed to control the vast majority of the fight. He got to Spadafora early and often, surprising the champ with his intensity and workrate. Most observers agreed that Dorin had been robbed of a decision he deserved. Unfortunately for both fighters and boxing fans, a rematched never materialized. On 24 October 2003, Doroftei was to fight a match against

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

nian boxer Miguel Callist. Doroftei had already announced that this would be his last professional match regardless of the result. As it turned out, the match was cancelled after Doroftei exceeded the maximum weight for

s at the weigh-in: he was over the weight limit, so he lost his WBA title. On 24 July 2004, Doroftei lost his undefeated mark when he tried to get the WBC title, getting knocked out with a body shot in two rounds by

Arturo Gatti Arturo Gatti (April 15, 1972 – July 11, 2009) was a Canadian professional boxer who competed from 1991 to 2007. A world champion in two weight class (boxing), weight classes, Gatti held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior lightwei ...

Retirement

He now resides in

with his wife and 3 children and is working as a trainer for boxing prospects. He has his own pub-restaurant in Ploieşti, which is decorated with his photos and memories from his boxing career. In November 2012, he was elected President of Romanian Boxing Federation.

Professional boxing record

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, KO , 2 (12) , Jul 24, 2004 , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", , - , 23 , Win , 22–0–1 , align=left, Charles Tschorniawsky , TKO , 4 (12) , Mar 20, 2004 , style="text-align:left;", , , - , 22 , Draw , 21–0–1 , align=left,

, SD , 12 , May 17, 2003 , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", , - , 21 , Win , 21–0 , align=left,

, UD , 12 , May 31, 2002 , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", , - , 20 , Win , 20–0 , align=left,

, SD , 12 , Jan 05, 2002 , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", , - , 19 , Win , 19–0 , align=left,

Emanuel Augustus Emanuel Augustus (born Emanuel Ya'kov Burton, January 2, 1975) is an American former professional boxer from Brownsville, Texas who competed from 1994 to 2011. He was known for his entertaining boxing style and showboating manner designed to con ...

, UD , 10 , Sep 28, 2001 , style="text-align:left;", , , - , 18 , Win , 18–0 , align=left, Martin O'Malley , TKO , 9 (10) , Jul 21, 2001 , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", , - , 17 , Win , 17–0 , align=left, Darelle Sukerow , KO , 5 (8) , Dec 15, 2000 , style="text-align:left;", , , - , 16 , Win , 16–0 , align=left,

Gairy St Clair Gairy St. Clair (born 2 February 1975 in Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown, Guyana) is a professional boxing, boxer in the junior lightweight (130 pound (mass), lb) division. He is the former International Boxing Federation, IBF world junior-lightw ...

, UD , 10 , Sep 08, 2000 , style="text-align:left;", , , - , 15 , Win , 15–0 , align=left, Jose Aponte , TKO , 8 (8) , Jun 16, 2000 , style="text-align:left;", , , - , 14 , Win , 14–0 , align=left, Gustavo Fabian Cuello , SD , 10 , Apr 06, 2000 , style="text-align:left;", , , - , 13 , Win , 13–0 , align=left, Rudolfo Lunsford , UD , 8 , Mar 07, 2000 , style="text-align:left;", , , - , 12 , Win , 12–0 , align=left,

Verdell Smith Verdell Smith, a.k.a. Tommy Bowles, a.k.a. Tim Brooks (born November 1, 1963) is an American former professional boxer. Smith, a journeyman fighter, appeared on the front page of the May 10, 2004, edition of ''The New York Times'', as he was the ...

, UD , 10 , Dec 10, 1999 , style="text-align:left;", , , - , 11 , Win , 11–0 , align=left, Darien Ford , UD , 8 , Oct 29, 1999 , style="text-align:left;", , , - , 10 , Win , 10–0 , align=left, Jean-Luc Morin , TKO , 3 (8) , Oct 13, 1999 , style="text-align:left;", , , - , 9 , Win , 9–0 , align=left, Dillon Carew , PTS , 12 , Apr 30, 1999 , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", , - , 8 , Win , 8–0 , align=left, Bernard Harris , SD , 10 , Feb 05, 1999 , style="text-align:left;", , , - , 7 , Win , 7–0 , align=left, Steve Valdez , TKO , 6 (8) , Nov 27, 1998 , style="text-align:left;", , , - , 6 , Win , 6–0 , align=left, Khalil Shakeel , UD , 8 , Nov 06, 1998 , style="text-align:left;", , , - , 5 , Win , 5–0 , align=left, Michael Balagna , KO , 1 (6) , Oct 14, 1998 , style="text-align:left;", , , - , 4 , Win , 4–0 , align=left, Don Sponagle , TKO , 2 (6) , Sep 24, 1998 , style="text-align:left;", , , - , 3 , Win , 3–0 , align=left, Sean Knight , UD , 6 , May 28, 1998 , style="text-align:left;", , , - , 2 , Win , 2–0 , align=left, Martin Aubut , UD , 6 , May 5, 1998 , style="text-align:left;", , , - , 1 , Win , 1–0 , align=left, Jerry Villareal , UD , 4 , Apr 24, 1998 , style="text-align:left;", ,

References

External links

*
Leonard Doroftei's Official Site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doroftei, Leonard Canadian male boxers Naturalized citizens of Canada World boxing champions World lightweight boxing champions World Boxing Association champions Lightweight boxers Light-welterweight boxers Romanian expatriates in Canada Olympic boxers for Romania Olympic bronze medalists for Romania Boxers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in boxing Sportspeople from Ploiești 1970 births Living people Romanian male boxers AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics 20th-century Romanian sportsmen