Michał Cieślak (boxer) explained

Michał Cieślak
Weight:Cruiserweight
Height:6 ft 3 in
Reach:79 in
Birth Place:Radom, Poland
Style:Orthodox
Boxrec:650083
Total:29
Wins:26
Ko:20
Losses:2
No Contests:1

Michał Cieślak is a Polish professional boxer. He has challenged for the WBC cruiserweight title in 2020 and the WBO cruiserweight title in February 2022. As of June 2020, he is ranked as the world's eighth best active cruiserweight by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board,[1] ninth by BoxRec[2] and tenth by The Ring.[3]

Professional career

Cieślak made his professional debut on 29 June 2013, scoring a four-round unanimous decision (UD) victory over Lukasz Zygmunt at the Amfiteatr in Ostróda, Poland. All three judges scored the bout 39–36.[4]

After compiling a record of 8–0 (4 KOs) he defeated Jarno Rosberg on 22 August 2015 at the Amfiteatr in Międzyzdroje, Poland, capturing the vacant Republic of Poland Youth International cruiserweight title via first-round knockout (KO).[5]

Cieślak was booked to face Shawn Cox on 26 September 2015, on the undercard of a Polsat Sport pay per view broadcast card. He won the fight by a first-round knockout, stopping Cox before the midway point of the opening round.[6] Cieślak face another journeyman, Hamza Wandera, on 27 November 2015. He made quick work of his opponent, as he won the fight by a second-round technical knockout.[7]

Cieślak faced the one-time WBC cruiserweight title challenger Francisco Palacios on 2 April 2016. He won the fight by a fourth-round technical knockout.[8] A month later, on 28 May 2016, Cieślak faced Alexander Kubich. He won the fight by a ninth-round technical knockout.[9] Cieślak faced Iluian Ilie on 17 September 2016, and won the fight by a second-round technical knockout.[10]

Cieślak faced Nikodem Jezewski for the vacant IBF Baltic, and Republic of Poland cruiserweight titles on 10 December 2016 at the Hala Orbita in Wrocław, Poland. Cieślak defeated Jezewski via third-round technical knockout (TKO).[11] On 9 January it was revealed both fighters had failed their respective drug tests.[12] They were both subsequently suspended for one year with Cieślak's win being overturned and ruled a no contest (NC).[13]

He returned to action in October 2017, scoring a UD victory against Ivica Bacurin.[14] Cieślak secured another three wins, two by stoppage, before facing Ilunga Makabu for the vacant WBC cruiserweight title on 31 January 2020 at the Temporary Arena in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of The Congo. Cieślak suffered the first defeat of his career, losing by UD, with the scorecards reading 116–111, 115–111 and 114–112.[15]

Following his failed title bid, Cieślak was booked to face Taylor Mabika. The fight was scheduled as the main event of a PolSat Sport broadcast card on 5 December 2020. He successfully bounced back from his first professional loss with a sixth-round technical knockout of Mabika.[16] Cieślak was next scheduled to face Yury Kashinsky on 15 May 2021. He won the fight by a first-round technical knockout.[17]

Cieślak is scheduled to challenge the reigning WBO cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie in the main event of a DAZN broadcast card on 27 February 2022.[18]

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
28Win25–2 Tommy McCarthyTKO7 (12) 4 Nov 2023
27Win24–2 Dylan BregeonKO4 (12) 22 Apr 2023
26Win23–2 Krzysztof TwardowskiTKO5 (10), 1 Oct 2022
25Win22–2 Enrico KoellingTKO1 (10), 24 Jun 2022
24Loss21–2 Lawrence OkolieUD1227 Feb 2022
23Win21–1 Yury KashinskyTKO1 (12), 14 May 2021
22Win20–1 Taylor MabikaTKO6 (10), 5 Dec 2020
21Loss19–1 Ilunga MakabuUD1231 Jan 2020
20Win19–0 Olanrewaju DurodolaTKO2 (10), 31 May 2019
19Win18–0 Youri KalengaRTD7 (8), 1 Mar 2019
18Win17–0 Dusan Krstin5 (8), 16 Jun 2018
17Win16–0 Serhiy RadchenkoUD82 Jun 2018
16Win15–0 Ivica BacurinUD821 Oct 2017
15NC14–0 Nikodem Jezewski3 (10), 10 Dec 2016
14Win14–0Iluian IlieTKO2 (8), 17 Sep 2016
13Win13–0Alexander KubichTKO9 (10), 28 May 2016
12Win12–0Francisco PalaciosTKO4 (10), 2 Apr 2016
11Win11–0Hamza WanderaTKO2 (8), 27 Nov 2015
10Win10–0Shawn CoxKO1 (8), 26 Sep 2015
9Win9–0Jarno Rosberg1 (10), 22 Aug 2015
8Win8–0Antoine BoyaTKO8 (8), 27 Jun 2015
7Win7–0Ismail AbdoulUD619 Sep 2014
6Win6–0Andrzej WitkowskiTKO2 (6), 31 May 2014
5Win5–0Art BinkowskiTKO2 (6), 26 Apr 2014
4Win4–0Ferenc Zsalek2 (6), 22 Dec 2013
3Win3–0Mathieu MonnierUD49 Nov 2013
2Win2–0Lukasz RusiewiczUD419 Oct 2013
1Win1–0Lukasz Zygmunt429 Jun 2013

Notes and References

  1. Web site: RANKINGS Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. dead. https://archive.today/20141206020332/http://www.tbrb.org/all-rankings/. 6 December 2014. 4 June 2020. en-US.
  2. Web site: BoxRec: Cruiserweight ratings. 4 June 2020. boxrec.com.
  3. Web site: Ratings. 4 June 2020. The Ring.
  4. Web site: BoxRec: Michał Cieślak vs. Lukasz Zygmunt. 3 June 2020. boxrec.com.
  5. Web site: Sukachev. Alexey. 24 August 2015. Cieslak Crushes Rosberg in One; Szeremeta, Karpets Win. 3 June 2020. BoxingScene.com. en-us.
  6. Web site: Polsat Boxing Night: błyskawiczny nokaut, Michał Cieślak efektownie pokonał Shawna Coxa . sport.onet.pl . 4 February 2022 . 26 September 2015.
  7. Web site: Michał Cieślak vs. Hamza Wandera. Skrót walki . polsatsport.pl . 4 February 2022.
  8. Web site: Polsat Boxing Night: Polski król nokautu jest tylko jeden. Michał Cieślak rozbił Francisco Palaciosa . sport.onet.pl . 4 February 2022 . 2 April 2016.
  9. Web site: Aleksander Kubich rywalem Michała Cieślaka w Szczecinie . sport.onet.pl . 4 February 2022 . 13 May 2016.
  10. Web site: Filipiuk . Jerzy . Mistrz olimpijski i król nokautu wystąpią na sobotniej gali w Wieliczce . dziennikpolski24.pl . 4 February 2022.
  11. Web site: 10 December 2016. Kontrowersja! Sędzia niespodziewanie przerwał walkę Cieślak - Jeżewski - Polsat Sport. 4 June 2020. www.polsatsport.pl. pl.
  12. Web site: Wolnicki. Kamil. 9 January 2017. Michał Cieślak oraz Nikodem Jeżewski na dopingu - Boks. 4 June 2020. www.przegladsportowy.pl. pl.
  13. Web site: Mierzyński. Szymon. 16 May 2017. Michał Cieślak i Nikodem Jeżewski zawieszeni za doping - WP SportoweFakty. 4 June 2020. sportowefakty.wp.pl. pl.
  14. Web site: Gala w Wieliczce. Michał Cieślak - Ivica Bacurin NA ŻYWO. Gdzie transmisja TV i STREAM? O której godzinie? . sport.se.pl . 4 February 2022.
  15. Web site: Donovan. Jake. 31 January 2020. Ilunga Makabu Surges Past Michal Cieslak To Claim WBC Cruiserweight Title. 3 June 2020. BoxingScene.com. en-us.
  16. Web site: Polsat Boxing Night 9: Michał Cieślak pokonał przed czasem Taylora Mabikę (WIDEO) . polsatsport.pl . 4 February 2022 . 5 December 2020.
  17. Web site: Czerny . Patrick . TKO-Sieg in Runde 1: Michal Cieslak gewinnt IBF-Eliminator! . boxen1.com . 4 February 2022 . 15 May 2021.
  18. Web site: Ring TV . Lawrence Okolie-michal Cieslak Set For The O2 In London On February 27 . ringtv.com . 4 February 2022 . 25 January 2022.