Markus Beyer
Markus Beyer (28 April 1971 – 3 December 2018) was a German professional boxer who won the WBC super middleweight title. As an amateur he represented Germany at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics in the light middleweight division. He also won a bronze medal at the 1995 World Amateur Boxing Championships and silver at the 1996 European Amateur Boxing Championships. Amateur career. Beyer's amateur record was 235 wins in 274 fights. Professional career. On 23 October 1999, Beyer won his first world title against WBC super middleweight champion Richie Woodhall. He successfully defended the title against Leif Keiski  before losing it to Glenn Catley. On 5 April 2003, Beyer challenged Canadian WBC super middleweight champion Eric Lucas and was awarded a highly controversial split decision in Germany. It was later proven that Beyer's team cheated by obtaining the judges' scores during the fight. Beyer defended the title against Danny Green and Andre Thysse before being upset by Cristian Sanavia. Beyer defeated Sanavia by knockout in a rematch then went on to retain the title five times by scoring wins over Yoshinori Nishizawa, Danny Green, Omar Sheika, Alberto Colajanni, and a draw against Sakio Bika. On 14 October  2006, Beyer lost his title via third-round knockout to WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler in a unification fight. He died in 2018, at just 47 years old due to kidney cancer. Personal life. In 2008, Beyer married Daniela Haak, aka Lady Danii from the Mr. President Eurodance band. Beyer died 3 December 2018 of a short and serious illness.