Juho Haapoja

Juho Haapoja (born 22 October 1980) is a Finnish former professional boxer who competed from 2006 to 2017, and held the European Union cruiserweight title twice between 2011 and 2017.

Juho Haapoja
Haapoja in 2009
Statistics
Nickname(s)Härmän Häjy
("Knife-fighter from Härmä")
Weight(s)
Height1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
NationalityFinnish
Born (1980-10-22) 22 October 1980
Ylihärmä, Finland
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights38
Wins28
Wins by KO16
Losses7
Draws2
No contests1

Professional career

Haapoja made his professional debut on 8 April 2006, losing a four-round points decision to Remigijus Ziausys, who also debuted. A ten-round split draw against Jari Markkanen on 16 March 2007 denied Haapoja a chance to win the Finnish heavyweight title. He lost for a second time to Denis Bakhtov on 22 May 2008, which was for a WBC and PABA regional heavyweight title. On 28 November 2008, Haapoja stopped Sami Elovaara in nine rounds to become the Finnish heavyweight champion, winning the vacant title in his second attempt. A defence of this title against Jarno Rosberg, which went the ten-round distance, was later relegated to a no contest after Rosberg was caught for steroids.

On 23 September 2011, Haapoja won his first major regional title by defeating Faisal Ibnel Arrami via unanimous decision (UD) to become the European Union cruiserweight champion. He made two successful defences against Ian Tims on 21 January 2012 (twelve-round unanimous decision) and Francesco Versaci on 15 September 2012 (fourth-round stoppage), but lost the title to Mateusz Masternak on 15 December 2012 (unanimous decision).[1] Consecutive losses came against Silvio Branco on 6 July 2013 (tenth-round technical decision)[2] and Rakhim Chakhkiyev on 15 March 2014 (ninth-round TKO),[3] both times for the vacant WBC Silver cruiserweight title.

Haapoja suffered his sixth professional loss on 31 January 2015, when he was stopped in two rounds by Serhiy Demchenko.[4] In a rematch against Demchenko on 23 May, the fight ended in a ten-round split draw. Haapoja won his second European Union cruiserweight title on 25 March 2017, scoring a UD over Damian Bruzzese. His first defence, on 21 October, was unsuccessful: after losing an SD to Alexandru Jur, Haapoja promptly announced his retirement from boxing.[5]

Professional boxing record
Professional record summary
39 fights 28 wins 8 losses
By knockout 16 4
By decision 12 4
Draws 2
No contests 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
39 Loss 28–8–2 (1) Alexandru Jur SD 12 21 Oct 2017 PowerPark, Kauhava, Finland Lost European Union cruiserweight title
38 Win 28–7–2 (1) Damian Bruzzese UD 12 25 Mar 2017 Töölö Sports Hall, Helsinki, Finland Won vacant European Union cruiserweight title
37 Win 27–7–2 (1) Tamas Lodi UD 10 17 Sep 2016 Seinäjoki Areena, Seinäjoki, Finland
36 Loss 26–7–2 (1) Tamas Lodi KO 3 (10), 1:04 2 Apr 2016 Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland
35 Win 26–6–2 (1) Miguel Velozo KO 7 (8), 2:48 19 Dec 2015 Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland
34 Draw 25–6–2 (1) Serhiy Demchenko SD 10 23 May 2015 PowerPark, Kauhava, Finland
33 Win 25–6–1 (1) Jevgēņijs Andrejevs UD 6 11 Apr 2015 Tervahalli, Kemi, Finland
32 Loss 24–6–1 (1) Serhiy Demchenko TKO 2 (10), 2:10 31 Jan 2015 PowerPark, Kauhava, Finland
31 Win 24–5–1 (1) Attila Palko TKO 1 (6), 2:35 20 Sep 2014 Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland
30 Win 23–5–1 (1) Jevgēņijs Andrejevs UD 6 16 Aug 2014 Olavinlinna, Savonlinna, Finland
29 Win 22–5–1 (1) Frank White TKO 5 (10), 2:50 7 Jun 2014 PowerPark, Kauhava, Finland
28 Win 21–5–1 (1) Łukasz Rusiewicz UD 6 17 May 2014 Salohalli, Salo, Finland
27 Loss 20–5–1 (1) Rakhim Chakhkiyev TKO 9 (12), 0:26 15 Mar 2014 Dynamo Sports Palace, Moscow, Russia For vacant WBC Silver cruiserweight title
26 Loss 20–4–1 (1) Silvio Branco TD 10 (12) 6 Jul 2013 Stadio Tommaso Fattori, Civitavecchia, Italy For vacant WBC Silver cruiserweight title;
Unanimous TD after Branco was cut from an accidental head clash
25 Win 20–3–1 (1) Michele De Meo TKO 1 (10), 2:34 20 Apr 2013 Pyynikin palloiluhalli, Tampere, Finland
24 Win 19–3–1 (1) Levan Jomardashvili RTD 5 (6), 2:44 9 Mar 2013 Barona Areena, Espoo, Finland
23 Loss 18–3–1 (1) Mateusz Masternak UD 12 15 Dec 2012 Nuremberg Arena, Nuremberg, Germany For vacant European heavyweight title
22 Win 18–2–1 (1) Francesco Versaci RTD 4 (12), 0:01 15 Sep 2012 Seinäjoki Areena, Seinäjoki, Finland Retained European Union heavyweight title
21 Win 17–2–1 (1) Ian Tims UD 12 21 Jan 2012 Seinäjoki Areena, Seinäjoki, Finland Retained European Union heavyweight title
20 Win 16–2–1 (1) Faisal Ibnel Arrami UD 12 23 Sep 2011 Ice Hall, Helsinki, Finland Won vacant European Union heavyweight title
19 Win 15–2–1 (1) Roman Kracik UD 10 21 May 2011 Seinäjoki Areena, Seinäjoki, Finland
18 Win 14–2–1 (1) Mantas Tarvydas TKO 4 (8), 2:24 4 Mar 2011 Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland
17 Win 13–2–1 (1) Zoltan Czekus TKO 2 (8), 1:28 13 Nov 2010 Seinäjoki Areena, Seinäjoki, Finland
16 Win 12–2–1 (1) Antonio Pedro Quiganga TKO 4 (6), 0:39 29 May 2010 Anssin Jussin Areena, Ylihärmä, Finland
15 Win 11–2–1 (1) Pāvels Dolgovs UD 6 20 Mar 2010 Liikunta-kulttuuritalo, Juuka, Finland
14 NC 10–2–1 (1) Jarno Rosberg SD 10 27 Nov 2009 Pyynikin palloiluhalli, Tampere, Finland Finnish heavyweight title at stake;
Originally an SD win for Rosberg, later ruled an NC after he failed a drug test
13 Win 10–2–1 Humberto Evora SD 6 22 Aug 2009 The Circus, Helsinki, Finland
12 Win 9–2–1 Stanislav Lukyanchikov RTD 3 (6), 3:00 14 Mar 2009 Urheiluhalli, Kemi, Finland
11 Win 8–2–1 Valeri Semiskur TKO 2 (8), 1:40 21 Feb 2009 Rewell Center, Vaasa, Finland Retained Baltic Boxing Union heavyweight title
10 Win 7–2–1 Sami Elovaara TKO 9 (10) 28 Nov 2008 Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland Won vacant Finnish heavyweight title
9 Win 6–2–1 Jevgēņijs Stamburskis TKO 1 (6), 2:54 30 Aug 2008 Metroauto-areena, Tampere, Finland
8 Loss 5–2–1 Denis Bakhtov KO 10 (12), 1:59 22 May 2008 Yubileyny Sports Palace, Saint Petersburg, Russia For WBC Asian interim and vacant PABA heavyweight titles
7 Win 5–1–1 Daniil Peretyatko SD 8 5 Apr 2008 Maapohjahalli, Vaasa, Finland Won Baltic Boxing Union heavyweight title
6 Win 4–1–1 Yuri Lunev TKO 3 (6), 1:28 2 Nov 2007 Anssin Jussin Areena, Ylihärmä, Finland
5 Win 3–1–1 Oleg Agafonov TKO 1 (6), 1:37 15 Sep 2007 Maapohjahalli, Vaasa, Finland
4 Draw 2–1–1 Jari Markkanen SD 10 16 Mar 2007 Kuopio, Finland For Finnish heavyweight title
3 Win 2–1 Sergey Bakin TKO 4 (6), 1:42 1 Dec 2006 Urheiluhalli, Vaasa, Finland
2 Win 1–1 Pavel Baryshnikov UD 4 23 Sep 2006 Kylpylä, Ylihärmä, Finland
1 Loss 0–1 Remigijus Žiaušys PTS 4 8 Apr 2006 Ravintola Umpitunneli, Tornio, Finland

References
  1. "Haapojan sitkeä taistelu ei riittänyt - Masternak pysyi voittamattomana" (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. Sanoma. 15 December 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  2. Sukachev, Alexey (6 July 2013). "Silvio Branco Gets WBC Silver Title, Decisions Haapoja". BoxingScene. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  3. Sukachev, Alexey (25 March 2014). "Drozd Demolishes Ouanna, Chakhkiev Stops Haapoja". BoxingScene. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  4. Persson, Per Ake (15 January 2015). "Demchenko Shocks Juho Haapoja in Two Rounds". BoxingScene. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  5. Persson, Per Ake (22 October 2017). "Juho Haapoja Loses EU Title, Announces His Retirement". BoxingScene. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Jari Markkanen		 Finnish heavyweight champion
28 November 2008 – 2011
Vacated		 Vacant
Title next held by
Janne Katajisto
Vacant
Title last held by
Geoffrey Battelo		 European Union
cruiserweight champion
23 September 2011 – 15 December 2012
Lost bid for European title		 Vacant
Title next held by
Mirko Larghetti
European Union
cruiserweight champion
25 March 2017 – 21 October 2017		 Succeeded by
Alexandru Jur
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