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Fight
Production, an internationally operating company based
in Germany with offices in the city of Bielefeld, was
founded and is headed by manager/matchmaker Olaf
Schroeder, who by now can look back on more than 20
successful years in professional boxing.
As
with so many, Olaf got his first taste of the ‘Sweet
Science’ as a young teenager, closely following the
latter part of Muhammad Ali’s career - and was
captivated. Later, he started to venture into journalism,
reporting for his local paper from German shows in the
early ‘80ies.
Then
Olaf got involved in the business part of professional
boxing in 1984, while simultaneously serving an
apprenticeship as a bank manager. |
As
probably the youngest manager and matchmaker in German boxing
history, he also began promoting in different partnerships in
1986. Three years later, Schröder had developed his first
national pro champion, taking a young local fighter all the way
up from an amateur career of only regional success. In 1990 Olaf
decided to quit his job as a banker in order to concentrate
full-time upon boxing and thoroughly dedicate himself to by-then
formed Fight Production. Since then he has guided more than two
dozen fighters to national and international title honours, and
is proud to have to have produced a total of four ‘world’
champions: Dutchmen Raymond Joval (WBU/IBO middleweight) and
Richel Hersisia (WBF heavyweight), Hungarian Mihaly Kotai (WBF
superwelterweight) and Armenian Arsen Khachatrian (WBF
middleweight).
| During
the years, Fight Production has worked with most
European boxing people and companies of importance, and
today enjoys good relationships with the premier
promoters of the continent – not that the name Fight
Production is unheard of in other parts of the world,
though.
Photo:
Schröder and former WBA Light Middleweight World
Champion Ayub Kalule. |
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Amazingly,
Olaf occasionally still finds the time to keep his pen sharp as
a freelance columnist for various publications, published the
‘German Yearbook of Professional Boxing’ from ’98 to ’03
and has gained a fair reputation as a cutman. Recognizing and
honouring the achievements, the IBF (International Boxing
Federation) named Fight Production „European Matchmaker of the
Year 1999“, the WBB (World Boxing Board) “Matchmaker of the
Year 2003”, and the WBF (World Boxing Foundation) "European
Matchmaker of the Year 2004".
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