Kolodzey, Pavel

Pavel was born on September 24, 1980 in Krynica-Zdroj ( Poland ). His father, Jerzy Kolodzey, has actively taught children to play sports since he was very young. As a child, Pavel rode a bicycle and rollerblades, played football, tennis and hockey. His father also took him to the sports school of his native city. First, Kolodzey practiced taekwondo , but after several trainings he switched to kickboxing . Having received a certificate of maturity, Pavel entered the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan , later becoming a licensee in the specialty Political Science and Resocialization. Having moved to Poznan , Kolodzey continued to actively engage in kickboxing, training at the local athletic club Athletics. The first serious achievement of the Pole was the gold medal of the youth championship of the country. In the future, Pavel won the Polish Cup four times in the "full contact" section. Boxing Kolodzey began to engage in the Olympia Poznan sports club.

In 2003, the Pole won the bronze championship of Poland in the amateur competitions in the super heavyweight category. ^[one]

In 2004, Pavel moved to professional boxing, playing at the first heavyweight title. At the beginning of his career, Kolodzey was invited to sparring with the German promotional company Universum with the subsequent proposal to sign a contract. However, Pavel chose to work with the Polish promoter Andrzej Vasilevsky. In the period from 2006 to 2012, he won the WBC world title among young people, as well as a number of minor champion belts under the auspices of various boxing organizations.

Married, wife Monica. ^[2]

In the amateur Pavel took part in two national championships in Poland.

In 2002, Kolodzei, who played for the PKB club ( Poznan ), lost in the first fight Mariusz Velczy (on points, 21:22), but the following season, stating the super heavyweight category, reached the semifinals. Starting the championship with a victory on points over Lukasz Varchol (17:13), Pavel in all respects lost to the semifinal stage of the competition Grzegorzu Kilse (1:13) and thus won the bronze medal of the championship. ^{[1] [3]}

In September 2004, Kolodzei moved to professional boxing .

On the professional ring, Kolodzey made his debut on September 25, 2004 at the age of 24, in the first heavy weight, all significant fights were held in this weight category. Pavel went to the ring 27 times in his native Poland, five times in Germany and one in the USA . The boxer’s promoter is Andrzej Vasilevsky (“Hammer KnockOut Promotions”), the trainer is Fyodor Lapin. Wilfred Sauerland ("Sauerland Event") also took part in promoting Kolodzey. ^{[4] [5]}

2004 - 2006

At the beginning of his professional career, Kolodzey met with low-level rivals. Until the end of 2005, Paul won 11 victories in 11 fights, seven of them early.

In 2006, the Polish boxer continued his winning streak, winning three more rating matches, after which he received the right to fight for the vacant world champion title for the WBC version. The opponent of Kolodzei in this battle, which took place on July 1, 2007 in Kępno , was Adrian Raikai from Hungary, who had no defeats.

Fight with Raikai

Pavel dominated throughout the fight, attacking mainly with a quick jab and a right hook . Raikai, being shorter, was unable to adapt to the actions of the Pole. Kolodzey was constantly ahead of his rival, he defended better, and in the sixth round he knocked out a Hungarian boxer. The productive "deuce" of Paul with the final blow to the right sent Raikai to the floor of the ring. At the time of stopping the fight, Kolodzei was leading on points on the cards of all the judges with a score of 50:45. ^{[6] [7]}

2007 - 2008

In 2007, Kolodzey held two successful defenses of the title he won. The first of them was held on February 24 in Glogów , where Pavel’s opponent was a boxer from Georgia Armen Azizyan.

Fight with Azizyan

In the initial rounds of the battle, Kolodzey had an advantage, but due to the good defense of the opponent he rarely delivered clean shots. Toward the end of the fight, the Pole began to act more productively - in the seventh round he sent Azizyan in a knockdown, completely dominated the final three-minute minutes. At the end of the battle, all the judges gave the victory to Kolodzeu with a score of 100: 89, 99:90, 100: 90. Thus, Pavel defeated Azizyan by unanimous judicial decision and kept the championship belt. ^[five]

Kolodzeem’s second defense of the title took place on September 22 in Bytom ; Romanian boxer Istvan Varga became a rival to the Pole.

Battle with Varga

Kolodzey from the first minutes began to actively act with his left hand, punching the opponent's defense. Varga managed to hold out for three rounds, but in the fourth he was unable to withstand the blows of Paul. The referee in the ring recorded a victory Kolodzeya technical knockout. At the time of stopping the fight, the Pole was leading in points on the cards of all the judges with a score of 30:27. ^{[8] [9]}

Kolodzey held his third title defense on February 9, 2008 in Lublin against Hungarian Laszlo Hubert.

The first fight with Hubert

Kolodzey, who had a significant growth advantage over his opponent, confidently won the match. In the sixth round for a low blow, the referee pulled a point from Hubert. In the seventh, Paul twice sent his opponent to the flooring of the ring with blows to the body and eventually issued another early victory in his career. At the time of stopping the fight, Kolodzey led by points on the cards of all the judges with a score of 60:54, 60:53, 60:54. ^[ten]

Until the end of 2008, the Polish boxer held two non-title rating fights.

In the first, Pavel met another Hungarian heavyweight, Jozsef Nagy, who had 18 victories in the professional ring with a single defeat. In the fifth round of the fight after an unintentional collision with heads, the rivals received serious cuts. In the seventh round, the referee was forced to stop the bout, and the winner was determined by the judges' notes. Since all three judges at the time of stopping the battle gave preference to Kolodze (70:64, 70:64, 68:65), the Pole was awarded the victory with a technical decision. Nagy and his promoter Zoltan Petrany later said in an interview that they were very disappointed with the final result, because in the last two rounds Kolodzey, in their opinion, fought to the limit and was close to defeat. ^{[11] [12]}

In the second rating match, Pavel defeated Laslo Hubert for the second time by unanimous decision.

2009 - 2012

In 2009, Pavel held two fights, winning and then defending the champion title according to the International Boxing Council (IBC).

On June 20, 2009, the experienced Czech boxer Roman Krachik, the Czech champion in the first heavyweight division, who won 29 professional victories with one draw and one defeat, became his rival in the fight for the vacant IBC belt.

Fight with Krachik

Krachik started the fight actively, however Kolodzey skillfully used the jab and stopped most of the opponent's attacks. In the third three-minute Czech, he increased the tempo and seemed to have seized the initiative, but the next three rounds remained for Pavel. Polish boxer began to effectively use the right uppercut in combination with the left straight, regularly punched Kraczyk defense. The second half of the battle also took place with the advantage of Kolodzeya. In the ninth and twelfth rounds, the Pole was close to ending the match ahead of time. As a result, Kolodzey won by unanimous decision with a score of 118: 111, 118: 110, 118: 110. ^{[13] [14]}

December 18, 2009, Paul defended the conquered title in Lodz . In the role of the challenger was a famous American boxer Rob Calloway .

Fight with Calloway

Already at the end of the first round, Kolodzey sent a knockdown kick to Rob Calloway from the right. In the second round, Pavel continued to develop success with a series of accurate hits. In the next three minutes, the Pole second time sent Calloway to a knockdown, and in the fifth round the American appeared on the ring flooring twice more. Ultimately, Calloway’s team did not release their boxer for the seventh round. At the time of stopping the fight, Kolodzey led by points on the cards of all the judges with a score of 60:49, 60:49, 60:50 ^{[15] [16]} .

In 2010, Pavel won and successfully defended his title of world champion under the version of the World Boxing Federation (WBF). The owner of this belt was Kolodzey on March 20, beating the British Mark Krens .

Fight with Krens

The first two rounds passed with a noticeable advantage to the Pole, who was hit by single accented punches from both hands. In the third round, Kolodzei began to work more serially; Krens could hardly withstand the opponent's attacks and eventually ended up on the ring deck. The British boxer managed to rise, but the referee considered it necessary to stop the bout, fixing Paul's victory by technical knockout. ^{[17] [18]} .

On June 12, 2010, Kolodziei defended his WBF title in his native Krynica-Zdroj in a battle against Frenchman Parfait Amugi Amugu.

Fight with Amugi Amugu

In this battle, Paul acted extremely cautiously, attacking mainly from a distance and avoiding the challenger’s right hooks. In the 11th round, the Pole seemed to give the initiative to his opponent, but in the end he still retained more strength for the final segment of the bout. In the 12th round, Kolodzey with a combination of the left jab and right cross shook the French boxer. Assessing the condition of the opponent, Pavel made a long, multi-hit combination with the final right-handed cross, who sent Amougi Amugu to the ring flooring. The referee stopped the bout without opening an account. At the time of the stop, Kolodzey led by points on the cards of all the judges (109: 100, 109: 101, 109: 100). ^[nineteen]

November 11, 2010, the Polish boxer won the belt of the interim champion of the Baltic countries according to the WBC version, beating American John McClain.

Fight with McClain

The first two rounds were held in equal fight. Boxers cautious and threw a few punches, fearing to open up. In this case, McClain surpassed the Pole in speed and predicted his attacking actions. However, in the third round, Kolodzey shook the American left straight, sending him a knockdown . McClain stood up and expressed his willingness to continue the fight, but then, due to a long series of punches performed by Paul, he was twice on the floor. After the final knockdown, the referee stopped the fight. At the time of stopping on the cards of all the judges was listed 19:19. ^{[20] [21]}

In 2011, Kolodzey held two fights, winning and defending the belt of the intercontinental WBA champion .

The battle for the vacant title again took place in the homeland of Paul, in Krynica-Zdrój , on March 5, 2011, and Felix Cora Jr. (USA) became the opponent of the Pole.

Battle with Cora

In the first two rounds, the boxers did not force the event. Starting from the third round, Kolodzey added to activity, and, working at long range, regularly took out Kora with quick combinations of punches, disrupting the American's attempts to impose close combat. At the end of the eighth round, Pavel shook his opponent, but the gong prevented the Pole from developing his success. In the tenth round, Cora still managed to reach a comfortable distance and struck several precise shots, periodically conducting successful attacks in the two final rounds. But the local success of the American did not affect the final result of the fight. Kolodzey won by unanimous judicial decision with a score of 116: 112, 118: 110, 118: 110 and became the intercontinental WBA champion. ^[22]

In the summer of 2011, Kolodzey sparred in the US with famous heavyweight Sergei Lyakhovich , helping him in preparation for the fight with Robert Helenius . It was expected that the Pole will perform in a heavier weight category. However, in July, Pavel said in an interview that he did not want to leave Poland and did not plan to change the weight category, preferring to seek a champion title in the first heavy weight category. ^[23]

In September, Kolodzei had the opportunity to hold a rating match with the British Ola Afolabi , which was tentatively scheduled for the evening of boxing in Wroclaw with the main fight Tomasz Adamek - Vitali Klitschko . However, in the summer, Pavel got into a car accident, and, according to his promoter Vasilevsky, although he didn’t receive serious injuries, his participation in the Wroclaw show, on the recommendation of a doctor, is excluded. ^[24]

On November 12, in Gdynia, Kolodzei defended his WBA intercontinental title by knocking out Argentinean Mauro Adrian Ordiales. In the second round, Paul twice knocked down an opponent. After the second knockdown, Ordiales rose to the end of the referee's countdown, but the boxer's angle preferred to stop the bout. ^[25]

In 2012, Kolodzey had only one fight, having taken the title of intercontinental IBF champion from the Romanian boxer Julian Ilie .

Fight with Elijah

The bout between Pavel Kolodze and Julian Ilie took place on March 17 in Krynica-Zdrój . The first half of the battle was a fairly equal fight. Kolodzei, who was at that time among the top ten strongest boxers of the first heavyweight in all four major professional boxing organizations (No. 3 WBA, No. 4 IBF, No. 6 WBC and No. 9 WBO), preferred to work as a jab from a distance. Elijah had local successes in the first, third and sixth rounds, pulling Paul on with sweeping swings . In the seventh round, Kolodzey sent a knock-down knockout to the right of the Romanian and later took control of the battle. Elijah did not leave attempts to inflict another accurate swing and actively conducted the ending of the match, but the final victory of Paul was not in doubt. The Pole was declared the winner by unanimous decision - 120: 107, 117: 110, 118: 110. ^[26]

On December 8, in Katowice, Paul was to meet in the eliminator (qualifying battle) with the American Garrett Wilson. The winner received the right to a title match with IBF world champion Joan Pablo Hernandez . But during the preparation for the fight, Kolodzey injured his ankle and was unable to enter the ring as a result. ^[27]

2013 - 2014

In 2013, Kolodzei held three rating fights in Poland, consistently defeating Richard Hall and David César Krens from Argentina on points, and knocking out Nigerian-born German boxer Prince Anthony Ikedji. In the first round of the battle with Ikeji Pavel was knocked down. ^[28]

In early 2014, the Polish boxer repeatedly got the opportunity to meet with strong rivals. The fight for the temporary WBA world title title with Ilunga Macabu scheduled for February 1 was rejected by Kolodzi himself, opting for the March fight for the IBF championship belt with Yoan Pablo Hernandez . However, the fight with the Cubans, originally scheduled for March 8, was postponed to March 29 due to a viral disease of the champion, and then completely canceled due to aggravation of gastritis in the same Hernandez. On July 26, Kolodzey could take part in the qualifying bout for the IBF version, having met in the USA with Ola Afolabi . As a result, the Pole team decided to fight for the WBA title with Russian Denis Lebedev on September 27 in Moscow. ^{[29] [30] [31] [32] [33]}

Championship fight with Lebedev

In the first round of the fight, the rivals did not differ in activity and, in essence, did not deliver accented blows. The second round was held with a tangible advantage of Lebedev, who first managed to carry out several successful attacks, and then sent a precise left jab to Paul on the floor of the ring. Kolodzey rose to the end of the countdown referee, but he, assessing the state of the Polish boxer, decided to stop the fight. ^[34]

After the failure in the battle for the world champion title, Kolodzei said in an interview that he was not going to leave boxing and plans to play in the professional ring for another two or three years. ^[35]

• Kolodzey, Pavel (English) - statistics of professional fights on BoxRec website
• PAWEŁ KOŁODZIEJ: ZACZYNAĆ LEWYM (Polish) . Michal Koper, Informacja własna.
• Statistics of amateur boxing tournaments (English) .
• Official site of Pavel Kolodzey (Polish) .