Gogea Mitu

Gogea Mitu
Statistics
Nickname(s)

Giant of Mârşani

Goliath of Romania
Rated at Heavyweight, 150 kg (330 lb)
Height 2.36 m (7.7 ft)[1] or 2.42 m (7.9 ft)[2]
Nationality Romania Romanian
Born (1914-07-14)July 14, 1914
Mârșani, Romania
Died June 22, 1936(1936-06-22) (aged 21)
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 11
Wins 8
Wins by KO 8
Losses 2
Draws 1
No contests 5

Gogea Mitu (b. Gogu Ştefănescu - Dumitru Goagă on July 14, 1914 in Mârșani – died June 22, 1936 in Bucharest) was a Romanian boxer and the tallest Romanian in history (followed by Ghiţă Mureșan). Gogea Mitu is also listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the tallest professional boxer.[3]

Biography

He was born in Mârșani, near Craiova in 1914, the first of eleven children, his mother being only 16 when she delivered him.[4] Mitu became world famous because of his enormous stature. He is listed with various heights, among them 2.36 m (7.7 ft)[1] and 2.42 m (7.9 ft)[5]

Because of these characteristics he was very sought after by doctors and scientists who wanted to know the reason for his gigantism and by people who wanted to profit from his stature. It was said that he was highly intelligent; despite not going to school, he learned to read by himself at the age of three, as he had the stature of a five — six year old child.[4] By age 17 he had become so famous that a circus owner from Prague offered him a job, to be presented as a human rarity.[4] He also presented shows at the Globus Circus in Monaco. His circus career was brief, but very fortuitous, because he was spotted by the successful Italian boxer and talent scout Umberto Lancia, who taught Mitu how to box and later became his manager.[4] Gogea Mitu went to Paris to attend the famous Paris School for Boxing and after graduating he started his boxing career. He also had a brother named Tudorel, who had the same gigantism as Gogea, but he died at the age of seven when he was 1.8 metres (5.9 ft) tall.[1]

Gogea Mitu had a back width of 1.05 metres (3.4 ft) and for lunch he used to consume 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of bread, 25 eggs, 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of fried chicken, two litres of milk, 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of sweets, a litre of ţuică and half a litre of wine.[6] His suits were made out of 7.5 metres (25 ft) of fabric and his bed was 3.5 metres (11 ft) long and 2 metres (6.6 ft) wide.

Boxing career

His first boxing match took place on the Venus Stadium in Bucharest and his opponent was the experienced Italian boxer Severio Gizzo. Mitu won by knockout in round five.[4] His second fight was against former Romanian heavyweight champion Dumitru Pavelescu, which Mitu won again by knockout in the first round. The only loss in his fighting career was against American boxer George Godfrey. After this match, his manager Umberto Lancia directed him to more important tournaments in Europe (in Prague and Paris), where Mitu fought the German—French boxer Bergman and the fight ended in a draw. This was Mitu's last fight as a professional boxer.[4]

Professional record

8 Wins (8 knockouts), 2 Losses, 1 Draws, 5 No contests
Res. Record Opponent Type Rd., Time Date Location Notes
NC 6-1-1
1 NC		 Italy Giuseppe Sanga NC 2 1936-??-?? France Palais des Sports, Paris
Draw 6-1-1 Germany Bergman PTS 6 (6) 1936-01-02 France Paris
Win 6-1 Italy Giuseppe Sanga KO 2 1935-12-09 France Palais des Sports, Paris
Win 5-1 Romania Dumitru Pavelescu KO 1 (10) 1935-10-27 Romania Gibb Hall, Bucharest A couple of punches to the head and Pavelescu is KO.
Win 4-1 Romania Umberto Lancia KO 1 (1) 1935-08-10 Romania Eforie Sud, Bucharest
Win 3-1 Romania Umberto Lancia KO 1 (9) 1935-08-03 Romania Galati, Bucharest
Loss 2-1 United States George Godfrey KO 4 (1) 1935-06-30 Romania Bucharest
Win 2-0 Italy Saverio Grizzo KO 1 (6) 1935-06-07 Romania Stadionul Venus, Bucharest Grizzo was on floor twice for a 6 count, the 1rd time he was KO.
Win 1-0 Romania Umberto Lancia KO 1 (3) 1935-05-12 Romania Galati, Bucharest

Death

Returning from Istanbul to Bucharest by train, he caught a cold and his manager suggested that before going home to Mârșani, he should remain in Bucharest for a few days to get better, but his condition got so bad that he was taken to Filantropia Hospital, where he eventually died by tuberculosis in 1936 at the age of 21.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Cine a fost cu adevărat Gogea Mitu?" (in Romanian). Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Misterul mortii celui mai inalt roman din istorie! Gogea Mitu a trait in 4 ani cat altii in 100! A fost UCIS de mafia din box?" (in Romanian). Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  3. ↑ Donald McFarlan, David A. Boeh, Norris Dewar McWhirter (1990). Guinness Book of World Records 1990 (28 ed.). Sterling. p. 464. ISBN 9780806957906. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "GIGANTUL ROMÂNIEI". Venera Dumitrescu-Staia (in Romanian). Agero magazine. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
  5. ↑ "Misterul mortii celui mai inalt roman din istorie! Gogea Mitu a trait in 4 ani cat altii in 100! A fost UCIS de mafia din box?" (in Romanian). Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Cine a fost Gogea Mitu?" (in Romanian). editie.ro. 2005-04-11. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
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