# Leonard Doroftei

Leonard Dorin Doroftei (Romanian pronunciation: , also known as Leonard Dorin; born 10 April 1970) is a Romanian former boxer, the WBA Lightweight World Champion from 5 January 2002 to 24 October 2003.

## Amateur highlights

Doroftei took up boxing at the age of 14 at the Ploieşti boxing club. From 1983 to 1984, he won every Romanian national junior title. He went on to win four national senior titles in 1992–1994 and 1997. He won bronze medals at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. In addition, he was declared World Champion in 1995 and European Champion in 1996. His record as an amateur was 239 victories and 15 defeats.

### Olympic results

1992 (as a Light Welterweight)
* Defeated Edgar Ruiz (Mexico) 24–4
* Defeated Arlo Chavez (Philippines) 15–1
* Defeated Peter Richardson (Great Britain) points
* Lost to Mark Leduc (Canada) 6–32
1996 (as a Lightweight)
* Defeated Julio Mboumba (Gabon) RSC 23 (1:46)
* Defeated Sergey Kopenkin (Kyrgyzstan) 23–1
* Defeated Koba Gogoladze (Georgia) 23–8
* Lost to Hocine Soltani (Algeria) 32–9

## Professional career

In 1997, Doroftei turned professional, signing with the Canadian club Interbox. Throughout his career, Dorin competed on ESPN, Showtime, and HBO. On 5 January 2002 he won the WBA world lightweight title, winning in a thrilling split decision over Argentinian boxer Raul Horacio Balbi 112–115, 114–113, 115–112. On 31 May the two fought again in Bucharest; this time, Dorin scored a knockdown en route to a clear cut unanimous decision victory, 118–111, 117–112 and 118–110.
A lightweight title unification bout on 17 May 2003 with American boxer Paul Spadafora, the IBF champion, ended in a draw, 114–114, 115–113, 114–115. The bout took place in Spadafora's hometown of Pittsburgh, and Dorin was a significant underdog. However, Dorin seemed to control the vast majority of the fight. He got to Spadafora early and often, surprising the champ with his intensity and workrate. Most observers agreed that Dorin had been robbed of a decision he deserved. Unfortunately for both fighters and boxing fans, a rematched never materialized.
On 24 October 2003, Doroftei was to fight a match against Panamanian boxer Miguel Callist. Doroftei had already announced that this would be his last professional match regardless of the result. As it turned out, the match was cancelled after Doroftei exceeded the maximum weight for lightweights at the weigh-in: he was 4+1⁄4 pounds (1.9 kg) over the 135 pounds (61 kg) weight limit, so he lost his WBA title.
On 24 July 2004, Doroftei lost his undefeated mark when he tried to get the WBC title, getting knocked out with a body shot in two rounds by Arturo Gatti.

## Retirement

He now resides in Romania with his wife and 3 children and is working as a trainer for boxing prospects. He has his own pub-restaurant in Ploieşti, which is decorated with his photos and memories from his boxing career. In November 2012, he was elected President of Romanian Boxing Federation.

## Professional boxing record

| 24 fights | 22 wins | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 8 | 1 |
| By decision | 14 | 0 |
| Draws | 1 | 1 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 24 | Loss | 22–1–1 | Arturo Gatti | KO | 2 (12) | Jul 24, 2004 | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | For WBC super lightweight title |
| 23 | Win | 22–0–1 | Charles Tschorniawsky | TKO | 4 (12) | Mar 20, 2004 | Montreal Casino, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| 22 | Draw | 21–0–1 | Paul Spadafora | SD | 12 | May 17, 2003 | Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. | Retained WBA lightweight title; For IBF lightweight title |
| 21 | Win | 21–0 | Raul Horacio Balbi | UD | 12 | May 31, 2002 | Sala Polivalentă, Bucharest, Romania | Retained WBA lightweight title |
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | Raul Horacio Balbi | SD | 12 | Jan 05, 2002 | Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | Won WBA lightweight title |
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Emanuel Augustus | UD | 10 | Sep 28, 2001 | War Memorial Gymnasium, San Francisco, California, U.S. | |
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Martin O'Malley | TKO | 9 (10) | Jul 21, 2001 | Bally's Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | O'Malley sustains a hairline fracture in his left ring finger and spends the next six weeks in a cast |
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Darelle Sukerow | KO | 5 (8) | Dec 15, 2000 | Molson Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Gairy St Clair | UD | 10 | Sep 08, 2000 | Molson Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Jose Aponte | TKO | 8 (8) | Jun 16, 2000 | Molson Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Gustavo Fabian Cuello | SD | 10 | Apr 06, 2000 | Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Rudolfo Lunsford | UD | 8 | Mar 07, 2000 | Molson Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Verdell Smith | UD | 10 | Dec 10, 1999 | Molson Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Darien Ford | UD | 8 | Oct 29, 1999 | Molson Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Jean-Luc Morin | TKO | 3 (8) | Oct 13, 1999 | Molson Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Dillon Carew | PTS | 12 | Apr 30, 1999 | Turning Stone Casino, Verona, New York, U.S. | For WBC Continental Americas super lightweight title |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Bernard Harris | SD | 10 | Feb 05, 1999 | Centre Pierre Charbonneau, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Steve Valdez | TKO | 6 (8) | Nov 27, 1998 | Molson Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Khalil Shakeel | UD | 8 | Nov 06, 1998 | Centre Pierre Charbonneau, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Michael Balagna | KO | 1 (6) | Oct 14, 1998 | Centre Pierre Charbonneau, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Don Sponagle | TKO | 2 (6) | Sep 24, 1998 | Centre Pierre Charbonneau, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Sean Knight | UD | 6 | May 28, 1998 | Westchester County Center, White Plains, New York, U.S. | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Martin Aubut | UD | 6 | May 5, 1998 | Pavillon de la Jeunesse, Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Jerry Villareal | UD | 4 | Apr 24, 1998 | Palais Sports Leopold-Drolet, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada | |