| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1994-10-28)28 October 1994 (age 31) Aalen, Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft9+1⁄2 in (177 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | Light middleweight | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Boxing career | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Stance | Orthodox | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Boxing record | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Total fights | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Win by KO | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Losses | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Abass Baraou (born 28 October 1994) is a Germanprofessional boxer who has held theWorld Boxing Association (WBA)light-middleweight title since September 2025. As anamateur, he won a bronze medal at the2017 World Championships and a gold at the2017 European Championships, both while competing at welterweight.
Baraou was born on 28 October 1994 inAalen, Germany. Shortly after his birth, his family returned to their homeland ofTogo, where he spent the first nine years of his life before moving back to Germany and settling inOberhausen.[1] When he was 13 years old, the energetic Baraou attended a trial boxing training session offered at a youth center near his apartment.[2] Although he didn't like it all that much, thinking it was too boring, he was spotted by a trainer that saw him hit the punching bag and persuaded him to continue training with him.[3]
He became the first German in seven years to win a gold medal at the continental stage when he took first place in the welterweight event at the2017 European Championships inUkraine, upsetting the favoritePat McCormack in the final.[3] Later that year at theWorld Championships inHamburg he reached the semi-finals of the welterweight tournament, where he fell to two-time Olympic medalistRoniel Iglesias.[4]
He was also a three-time national champion and a three-time winner of the prestigiousChemistry Cup.
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Baraou made his professional debut under legendary trainerUlli Wegner on 28 April 2018, defeating undefeated compatriot Artur Mueller via fourth-roundtechnical knockout (TKO) at the Baden Arena inOffenburg. In his second fight he took the GermanBDBlight-middleweight title from Denis Krieger (14–5–2, 9 KO) with a ten-roundunanimous decision (UD) victory over the Moldovan-born fighter.[21][22] As the final bell rang, Krieger spat at Baraou and insulted him in the post-fight interview. TheHanover crowd booed him as he offered the fans in attendance bothmiddle fingers several times while exiting the venue.[23][24] Four months later, on 6 October, Baraou retained his belt against Robert Maess (22–1, 20 KO), the man Krieger had originally beaten for the title in January.[25] He knocked his opponent down with a powerful left in the second round, and even though Maess was saved by the bell, he retired in his corner to give Baraou the victory.[26]
On 16 February 2019, less than ten months after his pro debut, he defeated Mexican former world championCarlos Molina by unanimous decision after twelve rounds for the vacantWBC International light-middleweight title.[27][28] In May he defeated formerIBO world championAli Funeka inFrankfurt, stopping the 41-year-old veteran in the fifth round.[29] He followed that up with his first fight abroad, a TKO victory over Egyptian prospect Abdelghani Saber (8–0–1, 8 KO) at the Caesars Palace inDubai.[30] After Baraou dropped him once in the first round, he floored him again with a body shot in the second that he was not able to get up from.[31] One and a half months later he defended his WBC International title againstJohn O'Donnell on the undercard of theRegis Prograis–Josh TaylorWorld Boxing Super Series super lightweight final atThe O2 Arena inLondon. Baraou sent him to the canvas late in the sixth round, and continued his attack after O'Donnell got to his feet, prompting the referee to stop the fight with one second left in the period.[32]
After a main event stoppage victory over Mexican rival Abraham Juarez inHamburg in January 2020, Baraou moved toEngland to train under the tutelage of highly regarded coachAdam Booth.[33] His second title defense was announced for 4 April against Nick Klappert (28–3, 15 KO), but was canceled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Germany.
| 18 fights | 17 wins | 1 loss |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 9 | 0 |
| By decision | 8 | 1 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Win | 17–1 | Yoenis Tellez | UD | 12 | 23 Aug 2025 | Caribe Royale, Orlando, Florida, U.S. | WonWBAinterim light-middleweight title |
| 17 | Win | 16–1 | Macaulay McGowan | UD | 12 | 14 Jun 2024 | Bolton Whites Hotel,Bolton, England | Retained European light-middleweight title |
| 16 | Win | 15–1 | Sam Eggington | MD | 12 | 1 Mar 2024 | Telford International Centre,Telford, England | Won vacantEuropean light-middleweight title |
| 15 | Win | 14–1 | Hugo Noriega | UD | 8 | 8 Dec 2023 | Caribe Royale,Orlando, Florida, U.S. | |
| 14 | Win | 13–1 | Ferenc Katona | TKO | 3 (8),0:25 | 31 Mar 2023 | York Hall, London, England | |
| 13 | Win | 12–1 | Brian Damian Chaves | TKO | 6 (10),1:55 | 19 Mar 2022 | Tempodrom, Berlin, Germany | Won vacantIBO Continental light-middleweight title |
| 12 | Win | 11–1 | Meriton Karaxha | UD | 10 | 3 Dec 2021 | Harzlandhalle,Ilsenburg, Germany | |
| 11 | Win | 10–1 | Jay Spencer | TKO | 1 (8),2:13 | 10 Sep 2021 | Wörthersee Stadion,Klagenfurt, Austria | |
| 10 | Loss | 9–1 | Jack Culcay | SD | 12 | 28 Aug 2020 | Havelstudios,Berlin, Germany | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Abraham Juarez | RTD | 4 (10),3:00 | 25 Jan 2020 | Work Your Champ Arena,Hamburg, Germany | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | John O'Donnell | TKO | 6 (10),2:59 | 26 Oct 2019 | The O2 Arena,London, England | Retained WBC International light-middleweight title |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Abdelghani Saber | TKO | 2 (8),2:01 | 13 Sep 2019 | Caesars Palace,Dubai, United Arab Emirates | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Ali Funeka | TKO | 5 (10),2:52 | 4 May 2019 | Fraport Arena,Frankfurt, Germany | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Carlos Molina | UD | 12 | 16 Feb 2019 | Conlog Arena,Koblenz, Germany | Won vacantWBC International light-middleweight title |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Sasha Yengoyan | UD | 10 | 1 Dec 2018 | Schwalbe Arena,Gummersbach, Germany | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Robert Maess | RTD | 2 (10),3:00 | 6 Oct 2018 | Wolfsburg, Germany | Retained German light-middleweight title |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Denis Krieger | UD | 10 | 2 Jun 2018 | Stadionsporthalle,Hanover, Germany | Won Germanlight-middleweight title |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Artur Mueller | TKO | 4 (6),2:17 | 28 Apr 2018 | Baden-Arena,Offenburg, Germany |
| Sporting positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regional boxing titles | ||||
| Preceded by Denis Krieger | German light-middleweight champion June 2, 2018 – 2019 Vacated | Vacant Title next held by Ali Celik | ||
| Vacant Title last held by JJ Metcalf | WBC International light-middleweight champion February 16, 2019 – 2020 Vacated | Vacant Title next held by Tursynbay Kulakhmet | ||
| Vacant Title last held by Stephen Danyo | IBO Continental light-middleweight champion March 19, 2022 – 2023 Vacated | Vacant Title next held by Sion Yaxley | ||
| Vacant Title last held by Milan Prat | European light-middleweight champion March 1, 2024 – August 23, 2025 Won world title | Vacant | ||
| World boxing titles | ||||
| Preceded by | WBA light-middleweight champion Interim title August 23 – September 13, 2025 Promoted | Vacant | ||
| Preceded by | WBA light-middleweight champion September 13, 2025 – present | Incumbent | ||
