Mariusz Wach (; born 14 December 1979) is a Polish professional boxer. He challenged once for the unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles in 2012.
Early life Wach was born 14 December 1979 in Kraków, Poland. He immigrated to North Bergen, New Jersey, as an adult."Wach to battle Irish contender at Mohegan Sun". The Jersey Journal/NJ.com 29 June 2011. Accessed 12 November 2012. "Undefeated heavyweight contender Mariusz Wach, of North Bergen, originally from Krakow, Poland, will face his biggest test – literally – when he meets Kevin 'The Clones Colossus' McBride on July 29 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn."
Amateur career Wach first became acquainted with boxing in 1990, amassing a 90-fight amateur career that saw him represent his native Poland in numerous amateur tournaments. Among his greatest achievements during that period were winning two gold medals and a bronze in the Individual Polish Championships and a silver in the 2004 European Union Championships. Wach later represented Poland in the 2004 Summer Olympics as an alternate.
Professional career
Early career Wach turned pro in April 2005 and defeated Deniss Melniks by first-round knockout in Świebodzice, Poland. He made his American debut in January 2006 by defeating Adele Olakanye by decision on the undercard of Arturo Gatti's destruction of Thomas Damgaard at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. Wach won seven fights that year, including five in America which was highlighted by winning the Polish International heavyweight title by a ninth-round knockout of Arthur Cook in Illinois. A few months later he won a belt in TWBA federation. In April 2009 in Jaroslaw, Poland Wach blasted out his American opponent Julius Long and defended his title of the World Champion in TWBA. Mariusz has also served as a sparring partner for several well-known boxers, including former heavyweight champion Samuel Peter. In 2010, after being sidelined for a year due to injury, Wach returned to the ring in great shape and turned in one of his best performances as a professional, knocking out Christian Hammer in six rounds in Germany.
In September 2010, Wach was invited by Mariusz Kolodziej, CEO of Global Boxing Promotions, to move to the United States and train at Global Boxing Gym in North Bergen, NJ. Under the guidance of former heavyweight champion Michael Moorer, Wach began his 2-month training camp in preparation for his matchup with Jonathan Haggler. In his first fight of 2011 – against Haggler in Newark, NJ – Wach scored a third-round knockout to win the WBC Baltic heavyweight title. After this fight, Wach signed a promotional agreement with Mariusz Kolodziej of Global Boxing Promotions and Jimmy Burchfield of CES.Boxing news, Polish boxing news, boxing in Poland, Polish boxers, Tomasz Adamek. English.bokser.org. Retrieved on 23 August 2012.
Wach's first big test came in July 2011, when he faced off with Kevin McBride, who ended Mike Tyson's career as a boxer. Wach was quicker and sharper, and with one right cross, knocked McBride out cold in the fourth round winning the WBC International heavyweight title.
Wach returned to the Mohegan Sun Arena just four months later with another statement-making performance, this time knocking out Jason Gavern in six rounds at the "November Reign" event.
On 24 March Wach showed that he is a force to be reckoned with after scoring a six-round TKO over another giant, Tye Fields (49–5, 44 KOs). The event took place at the Resorts Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and got coverage form ESPN's Friday Night Fights.
World title challenge Wach vs. Klitschko There was first mention of a potential showdown with unified world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in August 2011 when Klitschko's team approached Wach's promoters for a fight, however nothing materialized. Wach's promoter Global Boxing stated that it was Klitschko's advisor Shelly Finkel that contacted them. Bernd Boente denied these claims. In August 2012, serious negotiations took place for the fight. A date in November was considered with the venue likely to be in Hamburg, Germany. Terms were fully agreed within days of the negotiations for the fight to take place 10 November. Wach was the fourth Polish contender in history to try to win the world title in the heavyweight division.In the Klitschko vs. Wach – press conference on August 28th Wach said Boxingnews24.com (13 August 2012). Retrieved on 2012-08-23. At 2.02 metres tall, with a reach of 2.08 metres and weighing 251 pounds, Wach was four centimetres taller than Klitschko with a reach two centimeters longer.Mariusz Wach BoxRec.com. Retrieved 28 April 2015 In Poland, the fight was available via pay-per-view platform on Canal+ Sport for 39 zł and Polsat Sport for 40 zł.
On fight night, at the 02 World Arena, Mariusz Wach lost via one sided UD. The three judges' scored the fight 120–107, 120–107, and 119–109, all in favor of Klitschko. The bout opened with a battle between jabs which was won by Klitschko, who was following his jabs with his signature straight right. Wach managed to wobble Klitschko in round five but failed to take advantage. Wach also showed a great chin later in the fight when Klitschko began to let his hands go more landing thunderous shots. During the course of twelve rounds, Klitschko landed 274 of 693 punches landed (40%), whilst Wach landed 60 of his 308 thrown (19%). After the fight, there were allegations against Wach that he had used steroids.
Failed drug test Wach failed a doping test after losing a world heavyweight title fight against Wladimir Klitschko. He admitted to doping in the bout against Klitschko and got sanctioned by the Federation of German Professional Boxing, but said that he plans to continue his career no matter how harsh the penalties are.Magno, Paul (7 January 2013) Wach Admits to Doping for Klitschko Bout, Closes Chapter on the Year of the PEDs Scandal. sports.yahoo.com
Wach vs. Whyte On 7 December 2019, Wach fought title contender Dillian Whyte, who was ranked #1 by the WBC at heavyweight. Whyte was not at his best, but still managed to have control over most of the rounds, winning the bout via unanimous decision, 98–93, 97–93 and 97–93.
Wach vs. Johnson In his next fight, Wach fought former world title challenger Kevin Johnson. In a fight held without fans in attendance because of COVID-19 restrictions, Wach managed to outpoint Johnson to a unanimous decision victory. The scorecards read 99–91, 98–92 and 97–93 in favor of the home fighter.
Wach vs. Fury In his next fight, Wach fought former world title challenger Hughie Fury. Wach managed to induce a cut on Fury in the fourth round and tried to target the cut area for the rest of the fight. Fury, however, rebounded well from the cut and outboxed Wach for the rest of the fight, earning a unanimous decision victory.
Wach vs. Itauma Wach challenged Moses Itauma for the WBO Intercontinental heavyweight title at The O2 Arena in London on 27 July 2024 but lost via second-round stoppage.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes 53Loss39–14Tyson FuryRTD7 (12), 24 Jul 202652Loss39–13Victor VykhrystUD1025 Mar 202651Win39–12Piotr ĆwikPTS627 Sep 202550Loss38–12Kacper MeynaUD1012 Apr 202549Loss38–11Moses ItaumaTKO 2 (10), 27 Jul 202448Win38–10Michal BolozUD1013 Oct 202347Loss37–10Frazer ClarkePTS1016 Jun 202346Win37–9Jakub SosinskiTKO5 (8), 3 Jun 202345Loss36–9Kevin LerenaUD1017 Sep 202244Loss36–8Arslanbek MakhmudovTKO6 (10), 19 Feb 202243Loss36–7Hughie FuryUD1012 Dec 202042Win36–6Kevin JohnsonUD1012 Jun 202041Loss35–6Dillian WhyteUD107 Dec 201940Win35–5Giorgi TamazashviliKO1 (6), 5 Oct 201939Win34–5Gogita GorgiladzeTKO2 (8), 14 Sep 201938Loss33–5Martin BakoleTKO8 (10), 6 Apr 201937Loss33–4Artur SzpilkaSD1010 Nov 201836Loss33–3Jarrell MillerTKO9 (12), 11 Nov 201735Win33–2Erkan TeperUD1218 Mar 201734Win32–2Marcelo NascimentoUD1014 May 201633Loss31–2Alexander PovetkinTKO12 (12), 4 Nov 201532Win31–1Konstantin AirichTKO6 (10), 19 Jun 201531Win30–1Gbenga OloukunUD 1014 Mar 201530Win29–1Travis WalkerKO6 (10), 12 Dec 201429Win28–1Samir KurtagicUD87 Oct 201428Loss27–1Wladimir KlitschkoUD1210 Nov 201227Win27–0Tye Fields TKO6 (12), 24 Mar 2012 26Win26–0Jason GavernTKO 6 (12), 6 Nov 2011 25Win25–0Kevin McBrideKO 4 (12), 29 Jul 201124Win24–0Jonathan HagglerKO 3 (10), 19 Feb 2011 23Win23–0Galen BrownTKO4 (6), 12 Nov 2010 22Win22–0Christian HammerKO6 (8), 17 Jul 2010 21Win21–0Julius LongTKO 7 (10), 24 Apr 200920Win20–0Remigijus ZiausysUD67 Feb 2009 19Win19–0Evgeny OrlovPTS 1021 Nov 2008 18Win18–0Daniil PeretyatkoUD87 Aug 200817Win17–0Eric BooseTKO7 (8), 11 Jul 2008 16Win16–0Eduardo FrancaKO1 (8), 13 Mar 200815Win15–0Yavor MarinchevUD415 Dec 200714Win14–0Andriy KyndrychUD616 Nov 200713Win13–0Zoltán BéresTKO4 (12), 16 Dec 200612Win12–0Alexandrs BorhovsRTD5 (6), 20 Oct 200611Win11–0Arthur CookRTD9 (10), 23 Jun 200610Win10–0Raman SukhaterinUD63 Jun 2006 9Win9–0Oleg BelykovTKO2 (6), 6 Apr 20068Win8–0Earl LadsonUD610 Mar 20067Win7–0Adele OlakanyeUD428 Jan 20066Win6–0Oleksandr SubinUD617 Dec 2005 5Win5–0Tomáš MrázekUD41 Dec 20054Win4–0Sedrak AgagulyanUD427 Oct 20053Win3–0Aleksandrs BorhovsUD41 Oct 20052Win2–0Milan BecakTKO2 (4), 5 Aug 20051Win1–0Deniss MelniksTKO 1 (4), 29 Apr 2005
Exhibition boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes3Win1–1–1Kamil Bielecki1 (3), 10 Apr 20262Draw0–1–1Ryszard Raszkiewicz524 May 20251Loss0–1Lukas Fajk327 Dec 2024
Kickboxing and K-1 record
|- style="background:#c5d2ea;" | 2024-10-11 || Draw||align=left| Marcin Różalski || Strike King 3 || Piotrków Trybunalski, Poland || Decision (Draw) || 3 || 3:00 |- |- bgcolor="#cfc" | 2024-01-13 || Win ||align=left| Bartosz Słodkowski || Strike King 1 || Wieliczka, Poland || KO (knee) ||2 ||?
Exhibition Mixed martial arts record
|Draw |align=center|0–0–1 |Salim Touahri |Draw (no finish) |Silesian MMA 20 | |align=center|3 |align=center|2:00 |Będzin, Poland |
References
External links
Mariusz Wach - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings at Box.Live