Andriy Kotelnik Fighter Record, Bio & Profile (31-4-1, 13 KO’s)
Andriy Kotelnik is one of the top light welterweight contenders in the world today. He is the former WBA Light Welterweight Champion and was a Silver Medalist in the lightweight division at the 2000 Olympics. Kotelnik never backs down from taking on tough opponents within his division and still remains the only man to beat the powerful Marcos Maidana.
Amateur Career
Kotelnik was a very dominant Amateur fighter with an impressive record of 135-15. His most notable results were winning the Junior European Championships in 1995 fighting as a flyweight, as well as his Silver Medal victory in the Sydney Olympics.
Early Professional Career
Kotelnik continued his dominance in the early part of his professional career, winning his first 23 fights, spanning from 2000 through 2004. Perhaps the biggest wins of his early career were in 2003 when he won the vacant WBA Inter-Continental light welterweight title with a decision victory over Fabrice Colombel as well as when he defeated Zimisele Mpusulwa and Gabriel Mapouka for the same title.
Post WBA Title Victory
After it was clear that Kotelnik was the WBA Inter-Continental titleholder, his dominance was lessened a bit as he began to take on tougher opponents. In his WBA Light Welterweight title eliminator fight, Kotelnik lost a tough split decision to Souleymane M’baye. He then decided to fight for the European light welterweight title, losing a one sided decision to Junior Witter. At this point, it seemed as though Kotelnik was one of the tougher contenders in the division, but couldn’t quite handle the best opponents the division had to offer.
Hot Streak
After his loss to Witter, Kotelnik defeated Muhammad Abdullayev for the vacant WBO Asia Pacific light welterweight title as well as the WBA Inter Continental title. He then strung together an impressive streak of 7 straight fights against quality opponents without a loss (including a draw in his rematch against M’baye).
Win vs. Maidana
The biggest win of Kotelnik’s career was when he upset the young, undefeated and extremely powerful Marcos Maidana in a tight 2009 split decision to win the WBA World light welterweight title. This was a huge win for Kotelnik and was his biggest achievement.
Recent Fights
Kotelnik’s last 2 fights have both been title fights and have both been against 2 of the best fighters in the division. In July of 2009 he lost in a unanimous decision to Amir Khan for the WBA title and last month, he was defeated by the undefeated Devon Alexander in a fight for both the IBF and WBC light welterweight titles.
Kotelnik has established himself as one of the top light welterweight contenders in the sport and has certainly had his moments and his chances as both a former champion and a challenger for multiple belts. Look for Kotelnik to try to avenge these recent losses and take on more championship fights.
