Cengiz Koç

A German-born boxer of Turkish descent, Cengiz Koç started his sports career as a kickboxer at the age of 11 years in Berlin. He won the 1995 World Championship of the World Association of Kickboxing Organisations in the light contact event in the +89 kg class, and the following year Koç won the European Championship in the low kick event in the +91 kg class.

In 1998 Koç started amateur boxing and won the bronze medal at the 2000 European Championships in the super-heavyweight division shortly before the Sydney Summer Olympics. At Sydney, he lost his first-round match by a knockout against Cuban Alexis Rubalcaba.

After the Games Koç turned professional and won 21 bouts in a row before losing to Britain’s Michael Sprott by decision in 2005. In 2006, he lost a bout for the EBU European Championship against Italian Paolo Vidoz and also against the non-Olympian German, Timo Hoffmann. In 2011, Koç retired. He occasionally appeared as an actor in German action series.