# Mahmoud Charr

Mahmoud Omeirat Charr (Arabic: محمود عميرات شعار), previously known as Manuel Charr, is a Syrian-German professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight title (Regular version) twice between 2017 and 2024.

## Early life

Charr, son of a Syrian father and a Lebanese mother grew up in Beirut. In 1989, his mother fled to Germany with six of her eight children. His father had died in the Lebanese civil war. Mahmoud started his martial arts career with Thai boxing at the age of 17. Two years later he became the youngest ever German Champion in Muay Thai. In 2005 he became the German Champion and the European Champion in Thai-Boxing at the age of 19. Due to his track record in Thai-Boxing, in 2000 Mahmoud was invited to a training camp for professional boxers at the famous Max Schmeling Gym in Berlin. Here his professional boxing career started under the supervision of the famous German boxing coach Ulli Wegner.

## Amateur career

* 2002 TeutoCup Champion (Germany)
* 2003 District Champion (Germany)
* 2004 Westfahlen Champion (Germany)
* 2004 Western German Champion

## Professional career

After compiling a perfect record of 21-0, Charr fought WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko on September 8, 2012 in Moscow, Russia. Charr was knocked down in the second round with a right hook, and he lost the bout by fourth-round technical knockout when it was stopped due to a cut received as a result of Klitschko's punches. Charr strongly protested the stoppage but the decision remained the same, giving Charr the first defeat of his professional career.
Charr defended his WBC International Silver heavyweight title against Yakup Saglam in Galaţi, Romania on February 22, 2013.
He turned up to the post-fight press conference of the David Haye vs. Derek Chisora fight on 14 July 2012 in order to challenge the victorious Haye. Charr and Haye agreed to fight at Manchester Arena on 29 June 2013, but on 14 May, Haye pulled out due to a hand injury sustained in training. Haye went on to agree to fight undefeated Tyson Fury instead on 28 September, but that bout was also cancelled.
Charr improved his record to 26-1 with wins over Oleksiy Mazikin, Dennis Bakhtov and Kevin Johnson, before challenging highly-ranked Alexander Povetkin on 30 May 2014 for the vacant WBC International title in Moscow, Russia. Charr lost the bout by seventh-round knockout, suffering his second career loss.
Charr's fight against Povetkin was the first of five consecutive bouts that subsequently took place in Russia, the last of which was a brutal one-punch fifth-round knockout defeat to Mairis Breidis on 22 August 2015 in Grozny, Chechnya.
After improving to 30-4, Charr faced Alexander Ustinov for the vacant WBA (Regular) title in Oberhausen, Germany on 25 November 2017, and won by unanimous decision. Despite the "Regular" title being secondary to the WBA's "Super" title which at the time was held by Anthony Joshua, the victory nonetheless meant that Charr was the first German heavyweight world champion in 85 years.
A few days before Charr was scheduled to defend his WBA (Regular) title against Fres Oquendo in September 2018, Charr tested positive for drostanolone and trenbolone, and as a result the fight was cancelled.
In January 2021, Charr was stripped of his WBA (Regular) title due to inactivity. More than 3 years since he last fought, Charr returned to the ring on 15 May 2021 and recorded his 32nd career victory, with a second-round knockout of undefeated Christopher Lovejoy. Following extensive litigation with the WBA, Charr's title was restored on 31 August 2023 as part of a court settlement, and he was ordered to defend against Jarrell Miller by 14 October of that year, with the winner to face the next highest contender. This came just five days after the WBA eliminated the "regular" title in a consolidation bout that was part of the organization's efforts to reduce the number of champions per division. The 14 October deadline came and went, the fight with Miller failing to materialize due to reported financial issues. As a result, the WBA granted Charr a 60-day extension to find a new opponent.
Eventually, Charr was scheduled to fight Kubrat Pulev in Bulgaria on March 30, 2024. Charr tore his bicep in training and fight was postponed until September. The fight eventually took place in December with Pulev winning a unanimous points decision.

## Personal life

In 2015, an altercation at a kebab shop in Essen, Germany led to a drive-by shooting which left Charr shot four times in the abdomen and forced to undergo emergency surgery that night to save his life. Charr was dining with rapper Kay One at the time of the incident, which occurred following an argument with an online troll who had been abusing the boxer for some weeks. The perpetrator, whom Charr identified to police, turned himself in to the police. Charr underwent double-hip replacement surgery in May 2017.
Charr announced on social media that on April 24, 2024 at 4 Am GMT, Mahmouds first son "Kabir Mahdi Charr" was born in the Kings College Hospital of Dubai.

## Professional boxing record

| 39 fights | 34 wins | 5 losses |
| By knockout | 20 | 3 |
| By decision | 13 | 2 |
| By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 39 | Loss | 34–5 | Kubrat Pulev | UD | 12 | 7 Dec 2024 | Arena Armeec, Sofia, Bulgaria | Lost WBA (Regular) heavyweight title |
| 38 | Win | 34–4 | Nuri Seferi | TKO | 2 (10), 2:56 | 21 Dec 2022 | ECB Boxgym, Hamburg, Germany | |
| 37 | Win | 33–4 | Nikola Milačić | KO | 3 (10), 1:21 | 28 May 2022 | Die Bucht, Hamburg, Germany | |
| 36 | Win | 32–4 | Christopher Lovejoy | KO | 2 (12), 1:09 | 15 May 2021 | Box Gym, Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany | |
| 35 | Win | 31–4 | Alexander Ustinov | UD | 12 | 25 Nov 2017 | König Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Germany | Won vacant WBA (Regular) heavyweight title |
| 34 | Win | 30–4 | Sefer Seferi | UD | 10 | 17 Sep 2016 | EWS Arena, Göppingen, Germany | Won vacant WBA International heavyweight title |
| 33 | Win | 29–4 | Andrei Mazanik | TKO | 7 (8), 2:08 | 4 Jun 2016 | Autohaus Duerkop, Kassel, Germany | |
| 32 | Loss | 28–4 | Mairis Briedis | KO | 5 (10), 2:55 | 22 Aug 2015 | Akhmat-Arena, Grozny, Russia | |
| 31 | Win | 28–3 | Alex Leapai | UD | 10 | 22 May 2015 | Olympic Indoor Arena, Moscow, Russia | |
| 30 | Loss | 27–3 | Johann Duhaupas | MD | 10 | 10 Apr 2015 | Olympic Indoor Arena, Moscow, Russia | |
| 29 | Win | 27–2 | Michael Grant | RTD | 5 (10), 3:00 | 24 Oct 2014 | Olympic Indoor Arena, Moscow, Russia | |
| 28 | Loss | 26–2 | Alexander Povetkin | KO | 7 (12), 1:09 | 30 May 2014 | Luzhniki, Moscow, Russia | For vacant WBC International heavyweight title |
| 27 | Win | 26–1 | Kevin Johnson | UD | 10 | 12 Apr 2014 | Telekom Dome, Bonn, Germany | |
| 26 | Win | 25–1 | Dennis Bakhtov | RTD | 5 (12), 3:00 | 19 Oct 2013 | Messehalle, Leipzig, Germany | Retained WBC International Silver and WBC Mediterranean heavyweight titles; Won vacant WBC CIS and Slovac Boxing Bureau (CISBB) heavyweight titles |
| 25 | Win | 24–1 | Oleksiy Mazikin | KO | 3 (12), 2:10 | 15 Jun 2013 | Karl Eckel Halle, Hattersheim am Main, Germany | Retained WBC Mediterranean heavyweight title |
| 24 | Win | 23–1 | Yakup Saglam | RTD | 2 (12), 3:00 | 22 Feb 2013 | Galaţi Skating Rink, Galaţi, Romania | Retained WBC International Silver heavyweight title |
| 23 | Win | 22–1 | Konstantin Airich | KO | 1 (12), 0:44 | 22 Dec 2012 | Maritim Hotel, Cologne, Germany | Won vacant WBC Mediterranean heavyweight title |
| 22 | Loss | 21–1 | Vitali Klitschko | TKO | 4 (12), 2:04 | 8 Sep 2012 | Olympic Indoor Arena, Moscow, Russia | For WBC heavyweight title |
| 21 | Win | 21–0 | Taras Bidenko | UD | 12 | 30 Mar 2012 | Maritim Hotel, Cologne, Germany | Retained WBC International Silver heavyweight title |
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | Marcelo Luiz Nascimento | RTD | 8 (12), 3:00 | 18 Nov 2011 | Kugelbake-Halle, Cuxhaven, Germany | Won vacant WBC International Silver heavyweight title |
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Serdar Uysal | DQ | 1 (6), 1:28 | 3 Sep 2011 | Kugelbake-Halle, Cuxhaven, Germany | |
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Danny Williams | TKO | 7 (8), 1:16 | 25 Jun 2011 | Lanxess-Arena, Cologne, Germany | |
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Jonathan Pasi | TKO | 5 (8), 2:58 | 19 Feb 2011 | Porsche Arena, Stuttgart, Germany | |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Zack Page | MD | 8 | 4 Dec 2010 | Sport Center, Schwerin, Germany | |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Robert Hawkins | RTD | 5 (8), 3:00 | 19 Nov 2010 | Universum Gym, Hamburg, Germany | |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Owen Beck | TKO | 10 (10), 2:44 | 9 Jan 2010 | Bordelandhalle, Magdeburg, Germany | |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Sherman Williams | UD | 10 | 10 Oct 2009 | Stadthalle, Rostock, Germany | |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Ramon Hayes | TKO | 3 (8), 0:42 | 6 Jun 2009 | Koenig Arena, Oberhausen, Germany | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Gbenga Oloukun | KO | 7 (8), 1:29 | 25 Apr 2009 | König Palast, Krefeld, Germany | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Adnan Serin | UD | 6 | 31 May 2008 | Burg-Waechter, Düsseldorf, Germany | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Edgars Kalnārs | UD | 4 | 19 Apr 2008 | Bordelandhalle, Magdeburg, Germany | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Aleksandrs Selezens | UD | 4 | 5 Apr 2008 | Burg-Waechter, Düsseldorf, Germany | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Pedro Carrion | MD | 8 | 13 May 2006 | Stadthalle, Zwickau, Germany | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Radovan Kuca | KO | 1 (6), 1:35 | 8 Apr 2006 | Saaltheater Geulen, Aachen, Germany | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Stefan Baumann | TKO | 1 (6), 0:38 | 28 Jan 2006 | Tempodrom, Berlin, Germany | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Valentin Marinel | KO | 2 (4), 0:40 | 16 Jul 2005 | Arena Nürnberger Versicherung, Nuremberg, Germany | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Özcan Cetinkaya | UD | 4 | 11 Jun 2005 | Big Box, Kempten, Germany | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Nandor Kovacs | TKO | 2 (4) | 28 May 2005 | Lugner City, Vienna, Austria | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | David Vicena | UD | 4 | 14 May 2005 | Oberfrankenhalle, Bayreuth, Germany | |

## Viewership
### International

| Date | Fight | Country | Network | Viewers | Source |
| 8 September 2012 | Vitali Klitschko vs. Manuel Charr | Germany | RTL Television | 8,750,000 | |
| Total viewership | Total viewership | Total viewership | Total viewership | 8,750,000 | |