- Eckhard Dagge
Eckhard Dagge (
February 27 ,1948 inProbsteinhagen ,Germany –April 4 ,2006 inHamburg ), was a professional boxer in thesuper welterweight (154 lb) division.Eckhard Dagge was Germany's second world champion, after
Max Schmeling , holding the WBC Light Middleweight title from 1976 to 1977. Dagge also held German National and European titles, during his ten-year career.Background
Dagge was born in
Probsteinhagen ,Germany , nearKiel in 1946. He learned to fight in the bars and taverns ofHamburg . He would later embark on an amateur career, in which he won 66 out of 80 bouts, before falling short of making the 1972 Olympic Team.Professional career
Dagge would win the German Middleweight title, in his 6th bout. Dagge would follow up with wins over notable, but faded fighters
Denny Moyer andManuel Gonzalez . In 1974, Dagge challengedJose Manuel Duran for the European Light Middleweight title, losing by 11th round TKO. He came back the next year however, and stopped Duran in the 9th round, to win the title. He would defend this title once, before he lost it by decision toVito Antuofermo .Dagge earned a title shot against WBC Light Middleweight champion
Elisha Obed on June 17, 1976. Dagge pulled off a stunning upset of Obed, winning by 10th round TKO, to win the title in Berlin. Dagge then successfully defended his title against faded former championEmile Griffith , winning a majority decision. He followed this up with a draw over England's Maurice Hope, a future world champion. Dagge then faced Australia-based ItalianRocky Mattioli on August 6, 1977, and was knocked out in the 5th round. Dagge would win six more bouts over lesser opposition until he was stopped by Brian Anderson in 1981.Life After Boxing
Dagge had a repuatation as a wild man during his career and afterwards, as he struggled with alcoholism. Dagge worked with Universum after his pro career ended, training
Dariusz Michalczewski ,Michael Loewe , andMario Schiesser . However, he was fired from his job as a manager in 1994, due to absenteeism and his problems with alcoholism. Dagge died on April 4, 2006 in Hamburg, Germany, after a battle with cancer.See also
*
List of world boxing champions *
List of WBC world champions External links
* [http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=011423 Career boxing record]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.