# Paolo Vidoz

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.

## Amateur career

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

### Amateur highlights

* Italian Superheavyweight Champion 1991, 1993, 1995–1997, 1999
* 1996 competed at the European Championships in Vejle, Denmrl. Results were:
** Defeated Vasile Ciocan (Romania) RSC-2
** Defeated Miroslav Gavenciak (Slovakia) PTS
** Lost to René Monse (Germany) DSQ-3
* 1996 competed as a Superheavyweight at the Atlanta Olympics. Results was:
** Lost to Alexis Rubalcaba (Cuba) RSCH-1
* 1997 3rd place at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Results were:
** Defeated Patrick Halberg (Denmark) PTS
** Defeated Henryk Zatyka (Poland) PTS
** Defeated Ahmed El Akad (Egypt) PTS
** Lost to Alexis Rubalcaba (Cuba) PTS
* 1997 won the Mediterranean Games in Bari, Italy beating Sinan Samil Sam of Turkey in the final.
* 1998 won the Goodwill Games in New York, USA. Results were:
** Defeated Keith Govan (USA) PTS (8-1)
** Defeated Dmitriy Diagilev (Russia) PTS (8-2)
** Defeated Alexis Rubalcaba (Cuba) PTS (9-3)
* 1998 competed at the European Championships in Minsk, Belarus. Results were:
** Defeated Rimantas Priczmantas (Lithuania) PTS
** Lost to Vladimir Lazebnik (Ukraine) PTS
* 1999 3rd place at the World Championships in Houston, USA. Results were:
** Defeated Patrice L'Heureux (Canada) PTS
** Defeated Alexis Rubalcaba (Cuba) PTS (2-5)
** Lost to Mukhtarkhan Dildabekov (Kazakhstan) PTS
* 2000 2nd place at the European Championships in Tampere, Finland. Results were:
** Defeated Kurban Guenerbakan (Turkey) RSCI-1
** Defeated Kestutis Bitkevicius (Lithuania) RSC-4
** Defeated Bagrat Oghanian (Armenia) PTS
** Lost to Alexei Lezin (Russia) PTS
* 2000 won Super Heavyweight bronze at the Sydney Olympics. Results were:
** Defeated Calvin Brock (USA) RSCO-4
** Defeated Samuel Peter (Nigeria) PTS (14-3)
** Lost to Audley Harrison (Great Britain) PTS (16-32)

## Professional career

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

| 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. | |