Art Binkowski

Artur ("Art") Binkowski (born February 19, 1975 in Bielawa) is a Polish-born Canadian heavyweight boxer who competed for his adopted country Canada at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

Background

Binkowski came to Canada from Poland at the age of 13. He started boxing at age 15. He initially enrolled in martial arts as a teenager to deal with problems with other students in school. He started boxing after he and a friend bought some gloves at Canadian Tire and sparred for fun in Binkowski's basement. Binkowski's father was able to enroll his son in a boxing club soon afterwards. He studied psychology at the University of Waterloo.

Amateur career

Binkowski was Ontario amateur heavyweight champion for 6 years. He took part in the Olympics 2000 at superheavyweight. There he was defeated in the quarterfinals by Uzbekistan's Rustam Saidov.

Professional career

Nicknamed "The Polish Warrior", the resident of Mississauga, Ontario made his debut as a professional on November 23, 2001 in Southfield, Michigan against Michael Moncrief of the United States.In 2005 he lost to lightly-regarded countryman Patrice L'Heureux.Although Binkowski sported the better record, he came in as an underdog against hard-hitting American amateur star Rafael Butler on ShoBox in April 2007. He hit the deck three times in the first round but scored a stunning come-from-behind TKO in the final round of their bout.

He was crushed in a 2nd round TKO loss to Mike Mollo in October 2007.

Outside the Ring

He also played the boxer John 'Corn' Griffin in the movie "Cinderella Man", starring Russell Crowe.

External links

* [http://www.artbinkowski.com Art Binkowski's Official Website]
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* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1736874/ Art Binkowski @ Internet Movie Database]