Wilfried Sauerland
Born: Feb. 29, 1940
Induction: 2010
Born February 29, 1940 in Wuppertal, Germany. As a small child he developed a passion for boxing after his father took him to a live match. He promoted his first show on September 30, 1978 featuring Lotti Mwale in Lusaka, Zambia. He staged his first promotion in Germany in 1980 and soon developed a formidable stable of fighters including John Mugabi, Rene Weller, Ralf Rocchigiani and Graciano Rocchigiani, who captured the IBF super middleweight title in 1988.
Sauerland presided over a boxing boom in Germany during the 1990s when, under his guidance, Henry Maske reigned as IBF light heavyweight king from 1993-96. During his three decades in boxing he would also guide Axel Schulz (heavyweight), 2004 Olympic gold medalist Alexander Povetkin, as well as former champions Sven Ottke (super middleweight) Arthur Abraham (super middleweight), Mikkel Kessler (super middleweight), Markus Beyer (super middleweight), Nikolai Valuev (heavyweight) and current WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck, IBF middleweight champion Sebastian Sylvester and WBC / WBA female welterweight champion Cecilia Braekhus.
Under his leadership, Sauerland Event produces 12 top-rate boxing shows per year, has a long-term agreement with German TV giant ARD and stages events throughout Europe and the USA.