Mihai Leu
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Mihai Leu (b.February 13, 1968, Hunedoara) is a Romanian boxer, former World Champion, currently involved in auto racing as a racecar driver.
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[edit] Personal life
He was born in 1968, in Hunedoara, the son of Nicolae Leu, a well-known Romanian auto racing sportsman of the `70s - `80s. His brother, Victor, also made his debut in auto racing in 1999, as his co-driver.
He is married and has a son (Marco, born on June 11, 1993).
[edit] Amateur
In 1977 he started boxing at the Constructorul Club in Hunedoara, coached by Ion Turica. In 1981, he moved to the Metalul Club in Hunedoara (coach: Alexandra Pescar) and in 1982 he became part of the Dinamo Bucharest Club (coach: Ion Monea). During his time with Dinamo, he won the title of amateur boxing National Champion for four consecutive years: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986. In 1986, he moved to the Steaua Club and became part of the National Boxing Team coached by Dumitru Ion and Alec Nastac.
In 1987, he became World Champion at the Junior category.
In total, in amateur boxing he fought 200 matches, of which he won 190.
[edit] Pro
In 1991, he became a professional boxer in Germany and had 28 wins of 28 matches, winning the following titles:
- 1993 - Germany Intercontinental Title (which he gave up without fighting)
- 1995 - WBO Intercontinental Title (which he gave up without fighting)
- 1997 - World Champion (which he gave up due to medical reasons)
On February 22, 1997 Mihai Leu won the the fight (by unanimous decision) against Santiago Samaniego of Panama to become the welter-weight (66.8 kg) WBO World Champion - his greatest accomplishment in sports. He defended against Michael Carruth.
Due to an injury, he was forced to abandon boxing but, unwilling to give up the world of sports, he turned to auto racing.
[edit] Car racing
In 1998, Mihai Leu started his new career at the wheel of a Ford Ka and, after only three years, he managed to become the second best pilot in Romania. He had already participated in a race before, having made his debut in 1994, at the Banat Rally, on a Volkswagen Golf GTI 16V.
Five years later, in 2003, he became National Champion driving a Hyundai Accent WRC, with the help of a very reliable co-pilot, Ciprian Solomon. In his championship year, he won three rallies (Hunedoara, Baia Mare and Cluj). Involved in politics along with the Partidul Conservator, he is also assistant at the Tibiscus University in Timişoara (Romania). His son, Marco (13 years old) is a karting driver in the Romanian national championship.
[edit] External links
- http://www.mihaileu.ro/ (in Romanian)
- http://www.fras.ro/ (in Romanian)
