Ruediger May (born 26 November 1974 in

Meerane Meerane () is a town in the Zwickau district of Saxony, Germany. It lies midway between the towns of Altenburg and Zwickau, west of Chemnitz. As of 31 December 2015, there were 14,851 inhabitants. The population has declined from a peak of over ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

) is a prolific German cruiserweight boxer known for his stinging

jab A jab is a type of punch used in martial arts. Several variations of the jab exist, but every jab shares these characteristics: while in a fighting stance, the lead fist is thrown straight ahead and the arm is fully extended from the side of t ...

. He challenged once for 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 ...

world cruiserweight title in 2004.

Professional

As an amateur May boxed in 76 fights, managing to win 55, before turning professional on 26 February 1994 at the age of 19. He boxed his first professional fight in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

, winning the bout against Fred Simmons, by unanimous decision. He went on to win his first 24 pro fights before winning the German BDB cruiserweight title on 4 September 1999 with a points victory over Silvio Meinel. This was however followed by his first professional defeat at the hands of Turkish boxer Turan Bagci in Spain. After 2 successful title defenses against Michael Klötzsch and

Firat Arslan Firat Arslan (born 28 September 1970) is a German professional boxer of Turkish descent who held the WBA cruiserweight title from 2007 to 2008. He also challenged twice for the WBO cruiserweight title in 2012 and 2014 and once for the IBF cr ...

, May was given a shot at the EBU (European) cruiserweight title in a bout against

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

Alexander Gurov Alexander Gurov may refer to: * Alexander Gurov (politician) (born 1945), Russian politician * Alexander Gurov (boxer) Alexander Gurov (russian: Александр Гуров, uk, Олександр Гуров) is a Ukrainian professional boxer ...

in 2001. Gurov had won the European cruiserweight championship belt from no other than May's brother,

Torsten May Torsten May (born September 10, 1969 in Glauchau, Saxony) is a former German boxer, who won the Light Heavyweight Gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He challenged once for the IBF cruiserweight championship in 2006. Amateur career * ...

, that same year. Rudiger lost the bout however by TKO in the 4th round, his second pro defeat. In 2002 he boxed

Alexander Petkovic Alexander Petkovic (born 31 May 1980, Munich, Germany) is a German professional boxer of Bosnian descent. He challenged once for the WBO world cruiserweight title in 2003. Career Petkovic made his pro debut in 1997 as a cruiserweight and went un ...

, with both the WBC International cruiserweight title and German International cruiserweight title at stake. The fight ended in a disappointing draw. In 2003 however May won the vacant EBU-EU (European Union) cruiserweight title with a victory over Frenchman

Frédéric Serrat Frédéric Serrat (born March 15, 1977 in Grasse, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) is a French former professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2005. Serrat's most notable performance as an amateur was winning the silver medal at the 1997 ...

. He managed 3 title defences before being given another shot at the EBU (European) cruiserweight title in 2004 against the holder Vincenzo Cantatore, a former Italian heavyweight champion and holder of the WBC International cruiserweight title. He boxed to another draw and the belt remained with Cantatore. That same year May's promoter

Wilfried Sauerland Wilfried Sauerland (born 29 February 1940 in Wuppertal) is a German boxing promoter and manager. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2015 Career Boxing camps associated with Sauerland, have ha ...

secured him a world championship fight with

title holder

Johnny Nelson Ivanson Ranny "Johnny" Nelson (born 4 January 1967) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 2005, and has since worked as a boxing analyst. He is currently the longest reigning world cruiserweight champion of all time ...

. May missed his opportunity though, losing the bout by TKO in the 7th round. In April 2005 May fought Poland's

Krzysztof Wlodarczyk Krzysztof () is a Polish given name, equivalent to English ''Christopher''. The name became popular in the 15th century. Its diminutive forms include Krzyś, Krzysiek, and Krzysio; augmentative – Krzychu Individuals named Krzysztof may choose to ...

for the vacated EBU-EU (European Union) cruiserweight title but was beaten by knockout in the tenth round. Due to an alleged lack of prospects in professional boxing, May's promoter Sauerland arranged a better matched duel for May against the emerging and then still undefeated

Marco Huck Muamer Hukić (born 11 November 1984), best known as Marco Huck, is a German professional boxer.. Retrieved 2015-12-01. He held the WBO cruiserweight title from 2009 to 2015, and is the joint-longest reigning cruiserweight world champion of all ...

. May lost the fight on points over ten rounds. After a two-year break from boxing, May returned to the ring on 31 March 2007 in a successful comeback fight against Sven Hazel. After two more victories he was handed another world championship fight, this time against WBC International cruiserweight title holder

Herbie Hide Herbie Hide (born Herbert Okechukwu Maduagwu; 27 August 1971) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2010. He held the WBO heavyweight title twice between 1994 and 1999, as well as the British heavyweight title in 19 ...

in March 2008. May lost the bout by technical knockout in the second round, Hide's power proving too much for May, despite his height advantage.

Record

, style="text-align:center;" colspan=8, 43 Wins (11 knockouts, 32 decisions), 6 Loss, 3 Draws , - ! style="text-align:center; border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;", Res. ! style="text-align:center; border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;", Opponent ! style="text-align:center; border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;", Type ! style="text-align:center; border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;", Rd. ! style="text-align:center; border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;", Date ! style="text-align:center; border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;", Venue ! style="text-align:center; border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;", Location ! style="text-align:center; border-style:none none solid solid; background:#e3e3e3;", Notes , - , Loss ,

, TKO , 2 , 11 March 2008 , Maritim Hotel ,

Halle an der Saale Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-An ...

, Germany , , - , Win , Jevgenijs Andrejevs , Decision , 6 , 17 November 2007 , Sporthalle "Neue Zeit" ,

Schwedt Schwedt (or Schwedt/Oder; ) is a town in Brandenburg, in northeastern Germany. With the official status of a '' Große kreisangehörige Stadt'' (major district town), it is the largest town of the Uckermark district, located near the river Oder, ...

, Germany , , - , Win , Dzemail Skrijeli , KO , 3 , 7 July 2007 ,

Kölnarena Lanxess Arena (originally Kölnarena, German for ''Cologne Arena'') is an indoor arena, in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is known as the 18,500-capacity home of the Kölner Haie. The arena opened in 1998 and can accommodate 20,000 p ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

, Germany , , - , Win , Sven Haselhuhn , TKO , 6 , 31 March 2007 ,

Olympiahalle Olympiahalle is a multi-purpose arena located in Am Riesenfeld in Munich, Germany, part of Olympiapark. The arena is used for concerts, sporting events, exhibitions or trade fairs. The seating capacity for the arena varies from 12,150 up to 14, ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, Germany , , - , Loss ,

, Decision , 10 , 3 September 2005 , International Congress Center ,

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Prussia, it is best known for Charlottenburg Palace, the la ...

, Berlin, Germany , , - , Loss ,

, KO , 10 , 16 April 2005 , ,

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

, Poland , , - , Win ,

Roman Bugaj Roman Bugaj (born 9 August 1973) is a Polish heavyweight boxer. Before turning to boxing he was an amateur kickboxer – winning a European title. Career He turned professional in 1999. More than a third of his professional fights have been in ...

, Decision , 8 , 4 December 2004 , Estrel Convention Center ,

Neukölln Neukölln () is one of the twelve boroughs of Berlin. It is located in the southeastern part from the city centre towards Berlin Schönefeld Airport. It was part of the former American sector under the Four-Power occupation of the city. It fea ...

, Berlin, Germany , , - , Loss ,

, TKO , 7 , 4 September 2004 ,

Grugahalle The Grugahalle is a multi-purpose indoor arena located at the edge of the Botanischer Garten Grugapark in Essen, Germany. Opened on 25 October 1958, its seating capacity is about 7,700 people and about 10,000 for unseated events. The building was ...

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and ...

, Germany , , - , style="background:#abcdef;", Draw , Vincenzo Cantatore , Draw , 12 , 5 June 2004 , Chemnitz Arena , Chemnitz, Germany , , - , Win , Nate Zeikle , KO , 2 , 28 February 2004 , Mehrzweckhalle ,

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

, Germany , , - , style="background:#abcdef;", Draw , Vincenzo Rossitto , Draw , 10 , 22 November 2003 , Erdgas Arena ,

Riesa Riesa is a town in the district of Meißen in Saxony, Germany. It is located on the river Elbe, approximately northwest of Dresden. History The name ''Riesa'' is derived from Slavic ''Riezowe''. This name, romanised as "Rezoa", appears first ...

, Germany , , - , Win , Alain Simon , Decision , 10 , 6 September 2003 , Messehalle ,

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits ...

, Germany , , - , Win , Ismail Abdoul , Decision , 10 , 31 May 2003 , Brandenburg Halle ,

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...

, Germany , , - , Win ,

, TD , 7 , 15 March 2003 , Max Schmeling Halle , Berlin, Germany , , - , Win , Eric French , TKO , 4 , 1 February 2003 , Chemnitz Arena , Chemnitz, Germany , , - , style="background:#abcdef;", Draw ,

, Draw , 12 , 20 July 2002 ,

Westfalenhalle Westfalenhallen (English: Halls of Westphalia) is a commercial complex composed of conference (Kongresszentrum Dortmund) and exhibition centers (Messe Dortmund) with an indoor arena (Westfalenhalle), located in Dortmund, Germany. It is surround ...

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is th ...

, Germany , , - , Win , Vage Kocharyan , Decision , 8 , 27 April 2002 , Sachsen Arena ,

, Germany , , - , Win , Vladislav Druso , Decision , 8 , 9 March 2002 , Brandenburg Halle ,

, Germany , , - , Loss ,

, TKO , 4 , 1 December 2001 ,

, Germany , , - , Win , Mohamed Ali Bouraoui , TKO , 2 , 1 September 2001 ,

Bördelandhalle The GETEC Arena (until 2011: ''"Bördelandhalle"'') is an indoor sporting arena located in Magdeburg, Germany. The maximum capacity of the arena is 8,071 people for handball games and 8,820 for boxing matches. It is the current home to SC Magd ...

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label= Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Mag ...

, Germany , , - , Win ,

, Decision , 10 , 19 May 2001 , Maritim Hotel ,

, Germany , , - , Win , Henry Mobio , Decision , 8 , 24 March 2001 ,

, Germany , , - , Win , Lee Manuel Ossie , Decision , 12 , 27 January 2001 , Sachsen Arena ,

, Germany , , - , Win , Mohamed Ali Bouraoui , Decision , 8 , 16 December 2000 ,

Europahalle Europahalle is an indoor sporting arena located in Karlsruhe, Germany. The capacity of the arena is 9,000 people. The venue has featured a number of world record performances in athletics, including a jump of 2.07 m in the high jump by ...

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the German States of Germany, state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital o ...

, Germany , , - , Win , Michael Kloetzsch , TKO , 3 , 2 September 2000 ,

, Germany , , - , Win , Darron Griffiths , Decision , 8 , 6 May 2000 , Ballsporthalle ,

, Germany , , - , Loss , Turan Bagci , Decision , 8 , 2 November 1999 , ,

Ciudad Real Ciudad Real (, ; en, "Royal City") is a municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha, capital of the province of Ciudad Real. It is the 5th most populated municipality in the region. History It was founde ...

, Spain , , - , Win , Silvio Meinel , Decision , 10 , 4 September 1999 , , Meinsdorf,

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 square ...

, Germany , , - , Win , Francis Fofoh , Decision , 8 , 8 May 1999 , Philipshalle ,

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...

, Germany , , - , Win , Nigel Rafferty , Decision , 8 , 27 February 1999 ,

Max-Schmeling-Halle Max-Schmeling-Halle is a multi-purpose arena, in Berlin, Germany, named after the famous German boxer Max Schmeling. Apart from Mercedes-Benz Arena and the Velodrom, it's one of Berlin's biggest indoor sports arenas and holds from 8,861 people, up ...

, Berlin,

Prenzlauer Berg Prenzlauer Berg () is a locality of Berlin, forming the southerly and most urban district of the borough of Pankow. From its founding in 1920 until 2001, Prenzlauer Berg was a district of Berlin in its own right. However, that year it was incorp ...

, Germany , , - , Win , Matthew Charleston , Decision , 6 , 5 December 1998 , ,

, Germany , , - , Win , Geert Blieck , Decision , 6 , 10 October 1998 , ,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria , , - , Win , Marco van Spaendonck , Decision , 6 , 23 March 1998 ,

, Berlin,

, Germany , , - , Win , Peter Hrivnak , Decision , 6 , 6 December 1997 , ,

Neuwied Neuwied () is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne. Th ...

, Germany , , - , Win , Stephen Brown , Decision , 6 , 5 October 1997 , ,

Gera Gera is a city in the German state of Thuringia. With around 93,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Thuringia after Erfurt and Jena as well as the easternmost city of the ''Thüringer Städtekette'', an almost straight string of cit ...

, Germany , , - , Win , Simon McDougall , Decision , 6 , 1 June 1997 , ,

, Germany , , - , Win , Jerry Halstead , Decision , 6 , 26 April 1997 , ,

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

, Germany , , - , Win , Dan Kosmicki , Decision , 6 , 22 March 1997 ,

, Berlin,

, Germany , , - , Win , Mike McGrady , Decision , 6 , 7 December 1996 , ,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria , , - , Win , Albert Call , Decision , 6 , 19 October 1996 , Zoo-Gesellschaftshaus ,

, Germany , , - , Win , Tim St Clair , TKO , 5 , 25 May 1996 , Neue Messehallen ,

, Germany , , - , Win , Slavomir Selicky , Decision , 6 , 20 April 1996 , ,

, Germany , , - , Win , Carlos Vásquez , KO , 2 , 23 March 1996 ,

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsyl ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, United States , , - , Win , Ed Mosley , KO , 2 , 17 February 1996 ,

, Germany , , - , Win , Cliff Elden , Decision , 6 , 29 January 1996 ,

Café Royal A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Cou ...

, London, United Kingdom , , - , Win , Scott Lindecker , KO , 1 , 3 November 1995 , Zoo-Gesellschaftshaus ,

, Germany , , - , Win , Sean Gibbons , KO , 4 , 9 September 1995 , Seidenstickerhalle ,

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region ('' Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and ...

, Germany , , - , Win , John Keeton , Decision , 6 , 11 February 1995 ,

Festhalle Frankfurt Festhalle Frankfurt is a multi-purpose arena located in Frankfurt, Germany. The interior of the dome at its highest reaches a height of 40 meters. It provides an area of 5,646 square metres, offering by a variable grandstand system space for up to ...

, Germany , , - , Win , Steve Osborne , Decision , 6 , 26 November 1994 , ,

Wuppertal Wuppertal (; "'' Wupper Dale''") is, with a population of approximately 355,000, the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the 17th-largest city of Germany. It was founded in 1929 by the merger of the cities and to ...

, Germany , , - , Win , Art Stacey , Decision , 6 , 8 October 1994 ,

Gerry Weber Stadion OWL Arena is a multi-purpose indoor sports arena, located in Halle, North Rhine-Westphalia, in Germany. The capacity of the arena is 12,300 people and it opened in 1993. It hosts the Halle Open every year in June. It is one of the few grass cour ...

Halle, North Rhine-Westphalia Halle, officially Halle (Westf.) or Halle Westfalen (i.e. Westphalia) to distinguish it from the larger Halle (Saale), is a town in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, 15 km west of Bielefeld. It belongs to the district of Gütersloh ...

, Germany , , - , Win , Nicky Wadman , Decision , 4 , 17 September 1994 , ,

Leverkusen Leverkusen () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the south, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne, and to the north the state capital, Düsseldorf. With about 161,000 inhabitants, Leverkusen is on ...

, Germany , , - , Win , Fred Simmons , Decision , 4 , 26 February 1994 , The Event Center Arena , San Jose, United States ,

Other Information

His brother is

, who was also a boxer. In 2008 May spent a period of time as

David Haye David Deron Haye (born 13 October 1980) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 2002 and 2018. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, and was the first British boxer to reach the final of the World Amat ...

's sparring partner in Hayes preparation for his title defence fight with

Enzo Maccarinelli Enzo Maccarinelli (born 20 August 1980) is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2016. He held the WBO cruiserweight title from 2006 to 2008. At regional level, he held the European and British cruiserweight titles betwee ...

and May's preparation for his world championship showdown with

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:May, Rudiger 1974 births Living people People from Meerane German male boxers Cruiserweight boxers Sportspeople from Saxony