Paolo Vidoz (born 21 August 1970) is an Italian former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2011 and held the European heavyweight title from 2005 to 2006. As an amateur Vidoz won a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics in the super-heavyweight bracket, as well as a bronze medal at the 1997 and 1999 World Championships and a silver medal at the 2000 European Championships.

Paolo Vidoz
Born (1970-08-21) 21 August 1970 (age 54)
NationalityItalian
Other namesTitanium Jaw
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights39
Wins28
Wins by KO15
Losses11
Medal record
Representing  Italy
Men's amateur boxing
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Sydney Super-heavyweight
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1997 Budapest Super-heavyweight
Bronze medal – third place 1999 Houston Super-heavyweight
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 2000 Tampere Super-heavyweight
Mediterranean Games
Bronze medal – third place 1993 Languedoc-Roussillon Super Heavyweight
Gold medal – first place 1997 Bari Super Heavyweight
Goodwill Games
Gold medal – first place 1998 New York Super Heavyweight

Amateur career

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He won Olympic Bronze in 2000 at Super Heavyweight after beating Calvin Brock and Samuel Peter but lost to Audley Harrison.

Amateur highlights

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Professional career

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His first match was held at Madison Square Garden on 27 January 2001, against Chris Morris. He won the match via knockout at 2 minutes and 22 seconds in the first round.

Vidoz kept up a solid winning streak before encountering Zuri Lawrence, a "journeyman" fighter who, while proficient in his defensive ability, lacks a modicum of talent with regard to hitting his opponents (he has failed to record even a single knockout throughout his 12 years in the ring). Lawrence was able to baffle Vidoz with his slippery movement in the ring and score a unanimous decision after eight rounds.

Vidoz bounced back with his next fight, registering a devastating knockout of Eduardo Sandivares at just under a minute into the fight.

Vidoz dropped out of serious contention with a ninth-round TKO loss to Russian boxer Nicolay Valuev on 9 October 2004 at the Messehalle in Erfurt, Germany.

On 6 June 2005, Vidoz captured vacant European (EBU) heavyweight title and IBF Inter-Continental title with a split decision over Timo Hoffmann. Vidoz followed this up with a victory over British fighter Michael Sprott, but his "Titanium Jaw" was later checked in a fight in July 2006 against Vladimir Virchis, who beat Vidoz by KO in the sixth.

After his loss to Virchis he rebounded with two more wins against Alexei Osokin and Antoine Palatis before losing to Virchis one more time this time by unanimous decision.

He won two more fights against Zoltan Peto and Paul Butlin, winning both of them by knockout.

He faced Sinan Samil Sam for the vacant EBU (European) heavyweight title on 4 July 2008, but lost by majority decision. This fight was particularly strange, with the Manager of Samil screaming and bullying the judges at the end of the fight, to obtain a winning decision over Vidoz. He fought Matt Skelton for the vacant EBU European heavyweight title on 19 December 2008. He lost the fight after refusing to come out for round 10. In his most recent fight he defeated Tomasz Zeprzalka by TKO in the fourth round. On 18 December 2009, he fought Albert Sosnowski for the EBU heavyweight title but lost by unanimous decision after twelve rounds.

After his loss to Sosnowski he would go on to lose his next three fights to Claus Bertino, Alexander Ustinov and Kubrat Pulev. All of those losses came by decision.

He would go on to win his next two fights by decision against Gabor Farkas and Sandor Balogh. His most recent fight was on December 16, 2011, where he lost a decision to undefeated Matteo Modugno and has retired after deciding to hang up the gloves following the loss.

Professional boxing record

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39 fights 28 wins 11 losses
By knockout 15 3
By decision 13 8
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
39 Loss 28–11 Matteo Modugno UD 10 16 Dec 2011 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rezzato, Italy For Italian heavyweight title
38 Win 28–10 Sandor Balogh PTS 6 9 Sep 2011 Manzano, Italy
37 Win 27–10 Gabor Farkas PTS 6 15 Jul 2011 Monfalcone, Italy
36 Loss 26–10 Kubrat Pulev UD 8 18 Dec 2010 Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin, Germany
35 Loss 26–9 Alexander Ustinov UD 12 26 Jun 2010 Sports Palace, Odesa, Ukraine For EBA heavyweight title
34 Loss 26–8 Claus Bertino MD 8 30 Jan 2010 NRGi Arena, Aarhus, Denmark
33 Loss 26–7 Albert Sosnowski UD 12 18 Dec 2009 York Hall, London, England For vacant European heavyweight title
32 Win 26–6 Tomasz Zeprzalka TKO 4 (6) 7 Mar 2009 Palazzetto dello Sport, Gorizia, Italy
31 Loss 25–6 Matt Skelton RTD 9 (12), 3:00 19 Dec 2008 PalaLido, Milan, Italy For vacant European heavyweight title
30 Loss 25–5 Sinan Şamil Sam MD 12 4 Jul 2008 Bueyuek Anadolu Hotel, Ankara, Turkey For vacant European heavyweight title
29 Win 25–4 Paul Butlin KO 2 (6) 16 May 2008 PalaRuffini, Turin, Italy
28 Win 24–4 Zoltan Peto TKO 1 (6) 21 Dec 2007 PalaBam, Mantua, Italy
27 Loss 23–4 Volodymyr Virchis UD 12 19 May 2007 Color Line Arena, Hamburg, Germany For European heavyweight title
26 Win 23–3 Antoine Palatis UD 8 27 Jan 2007 Palazzetto dello Sport, Cividale del Friuli, Italy
25 Win 22–3 Alexey Osokin UD 8 11 Nov 2006 Camisano Vicentino, Veneto, Italy
24 Loss 21–3 Volodymyr Virchis KO 6 (12), 2:17 15 Jul 2006 Color Line Arena, Hamburg, Germany Lost European heavyweight title
23 Win 21–2 Cengiz Koç UD 12 28 Jan 2006 Tempodrom, Berlin, Germany Retained European heavyweight title
22 Win 20–2 Michael Sprott UD 12 1 Oct 2005 EWE Arena, Oldenburg, Germany Retained European heavyweight title
21 Win 19–2 Timo Hoffmann SD 12 11 Jun 2005 BigBox, Berlin, Germany Won IBF Intercontinental and vacant European heavyweight titles
20 Win 18–2 Mindaugas Kulikauskas TKO 3 (6) 16 Apr 2005 Palazzetto dello Sport, Bergamo, Italy
19 Loss 17–2 Nikolai Valuev TKO 9 (12), 2:33 9 Oct 2004 Messehalle, Erfurt, Germany For vacant WBA Intercontinental heavyweight title
18 Win 17–1 Tamer Mourad KO 2 (6) 6 Aug 2004 Palermo, Sicily, Italy
17 Win 16–1 Thierry Guezouli KO 3 (6) 12 Mar 2004 Camisano Vicentino, Veneto, Italy
16 Win 15–1 Siarhei Dychkou PTS 8 6 Feb 2004 Ariano nel Polesine, Veneto, Italy
15 Win 14–1 Ralf Packheiser TKO 4 (6) 17 Dec 2003 Palasport, Bergamo, Italy
14 Win 13–1 Antoine Palatis PTS 6 7 Jun 2003 Casinò di Campione, Trieste, Italy
13 Win 12–1 Eduardo Andres Sandivares KO 1 (6), 0:58 15 Apr 2003 Palazzetto dello Sport, Piacenza, Italy
12 Loss 11–1 Zuri Lawrence UD 8 17 Aug 2002 Trump Taj Majal, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
11 Win 11–0 Joe Lenhart UD 6 26 Jul 2002 Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort, Chester, West Virginia, U.S.
10 Win 10–0 Alessandro Guni TKO 5 (10) 19 Apr 2002 Udine, Italy Won vacant Italian heavyweight title
9 Win 9–0 Craig Tomlinson TKO 3 (8), 2:29 9 Mar 2002 AJ Palumbo Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
8 Win 8–0 Marco Heinichen KO 2 (6) 9 Feb 2002 Civitavecchia, Italy
7 Win 7–0 Nicholus Nurse UD 6 9 Nov 2001 San Antonio Station, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
6 Win 6–0 Ronnie Copeland TKO 4 (6), 0:37 28 Sep 2001 Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
5 Win 5–0 Chris Hairston TKO 2 (6) 7 Jul 2001 KeySpan Park, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
4 Win 4–0 Eduardo Antonio Carranza UD 4 26 May 2001 Trieste, Italy
3 Win 3–0 Bobby McGraw TKO 1 (4), 2:36 20 Apr 2001 Cintas Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
2 Win 2–0 Marcus Johnson UD 4 24 Mar 2001 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
1 Win 1–0 Chris Morris KO 1 (4), 2:22 27 Jan 2001 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.

See also

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