Paea Wolfgramm (born December 1, 1969) is a Tongan retired boxer. Nicknamed "The Tongan Warrior", Wolfgramm earned the Super Heavyweight silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics, making him the first and only athlete from Tonga to win an Olympic medal.[1]

Paea Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm in 2017
Personal information
Full namePaea Wolfgramm
NicknameThe Tongan Warrior
NationalityTongan
Born (1969-12-01) December 1, 1969 (age 54)
Vava'u, Tonga
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight140 kg (309 lb)
Sport
SportBoxing
Weight classSuper Heavyweight
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing  Tonga
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1996 Atlanta Super heavyweight
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Victoria Super heavyweight

Personal edit

Wolfgramm has 7 children - 5 boys and 2 girls, as well as 4 brothers and 2 sisters. He resides in South Auckland New Zealand, where he is a hostel parent at a well-known New Zealand school, Wesley College.

Amateur highlights edit

Professional career edit

At 6'4" and 325 pounds, the huge Wolfgramm turned pro after the Olympics, but had limited success. He lost a decision to journeyman Marion Wilson in 1998. Although he was able to beat former Cuban Olympian Jorge Luis Gonzalez by decision to set up a fight with Wladimir Klitschko for the vacant WBC International Heavyweight Title, he was beaten in the first round in a rematch of their 1996 Super Heavyweight Olympic finals bout. He later lost a decision to Eliecer Castillo, but beat Jimmy Thunder to set up a fight with Corey Sanders in late 2001. Sanders won via 9th-round TKO, and Wolfgramm announced his retirement shortly after this fight.

Professional boxing record edit

24 fights 20 wins 4 losses
By knockout 14 2
By decision 6 2
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
24 Loss 20–4   Corey Sanders TKO 9 (10), 1:54 8 Aug 2001   Grand Victoria Casino, Elgin, Illinois, U.S.
23 Win 20–3   Jimmy Thunder TD 7 (10), 3:00 1 Apr 2001   Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
22 Loss 19–3   Eliecer Castillo SD 12 21 Oct 2000   Silver Star Casino, Philadelphia, Mississippi, U.S. For vacant IBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title
21 Win 19–2   Rocky Gannon RTD 3 (8), 3:00 21 Jul 2000   Regent Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
20 Loss 18–2   Wladimir Klitschko TKO 1 (12), 1:30 18 Mar 2000   Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany For vacant WBC International heavyweight title
19 Win 18–1   Calvin Lampkin UD 10 5 Dec 1999   Casino Magic, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, U.S.
18 Win 17–1   Gerard Jones UD 10 7 Mar 1999   Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
17 Win 16–1   Jorge Luis González MD 8 15 Aug 1998   County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas, U.S.
16 Win 15–1   Guy Sonnenberg TKO 1 (8), 1:29 12 Jun 1998   Belle of Baton Rouge Casino, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.
15 Loss 14–1   Marion Wilson MD 6 9 May 1998   Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
14 Win 14–0   Rick Sullivan TKO 1 (6) 21 Mar 1998   Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin, Germany
13 Win 13–0   Kevin Rosier TKO 1 (6), 1:12 16 Jan 1998   Trump Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
12 Win 12–0   Billy Eaton KO 1 (6), 1:29 20 Dec 1997   Country Club, Reseda, California, U.S.
11 Win 11–0   Ed White KO 1 (4), 2:15 23 Sep 1997   Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut, U.S.
10 Win 10–0   Gerald Brown TKO 1 (4) 23 August 1997   Wild Wild West, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
9 Win 9–0   Jessie Henry TKO 3 (4), 2:59 9 August 1997   South Padre Island, Texas, U.S.
8 Win 8–0   Robert Mitchell TKO 1 (4) 24 May 1997   Mammoth Events Center, Denver, Colorado, U.S.
7 Win 7–0   Khoren Indjian TKO 2 (4), 1:24 10 May 1997   MARK of the Quad Cities, Moline, Illinois, U.S.
6 Win 6–0   Ronnie Smith UD 4 3 Mar 1997   Austin, Texas, U.S.
5 Win 5–0   Stan Jones KO 2 (6) 14 Feb 1997   Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
4 Win 4–0   Momtchil Govedarov TKO 1 (4), 1:17 28 Jan 1997   Club Rio, Tempe, Arizona, U.S.
3 Win 3–0   Orlando Leavall PTS 4 17 Jan 1997   Country Club, Reseda, California, U.S.
2 Win 2–0   John Foster TKO 1 (4) 11 Jan 1997   Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
1 Win 1–0   Jeff Kirk KO 1 (4), 0:46 3 Dec 1996   Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California, U.S. Professional debut

Honours edit

National honours

References edit

  1. ^ "Boxing: Training was not all beer and skittles for Wolgramm". New Zealand Herald. 7 March 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Bittersweet moment for Pacific Islands first Olympic medalist, Paea Wolfgramm". Matangi Tonga. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Royal orders presented at Palace". Matangi Tonga. 1 August 2008. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.

External links edit

Olympic Games
Preceded by Flagbearer for   Tonga
Atlanta 1996
Succeeded by