Oleg Platov (born 8 April 1983 in

Dnipropetrovsk Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

) is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who fought in the

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

division.

Professional career

Debut fight

After leaving the amateurs ranks Platov was based in Belgium when he became a professional. His first pro bout was in May 2001, winning in

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, when Platov beat fellow debutant French fighter Jacques Bret with a first round

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

Belgian base

Platov fought his first 20 fights in Belgium, suffering only one defeat which was a points defeat to Ludovic Mace. He faced Mace again six months later and avenged the loss, KO'ing Mace in the third round.

First belt

Whilst still based in Belgium, Platov fought for his first title belt against

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

ian Igor Shukala in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Belgium for the vacant WBC World Youth heavyweight title. Platov knocked the previously unbeaten Shukala out in the first round to take the title. On November 4, 2006, he fought the former #1 contender Henry Akinwande and won a split decision. This was his greatest achievement, as Akinwande's record at the time was 49–2 and he had fought for the WBC title against

Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hold ...

previously. In December 2007 he fought Danny Williams, another former title contender. The bout ended with a no-decision after Platov was cut over the left eye following an accidental headbutt and the referee stopped the contest. Platov was then inactive for just over a year, before returning against Jason Gavern, in Zurich, Switzerland. Platov won a clear 8-round decision, flooring Gavern in the sixth round. Over the next four years, Platov only fought 3 more times, winning them all. His final bout was in November 2012, when he fought in America for the first time, knocking out Harold Sconiers in 2 rounds - his record after this fight was W-30; L-1. D-0; 1 No Contest.

References

External links

* 1983 births Living people Heavyweight boxers Ukrainian male boxers Sportspeople from Dnipro {{Ukraine-boxing-bio-stub