Manuel Charr

Mahmoud Charr , previously known as Manuel Charr, is a Syrian-German professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight title (Regular version) twice between 2017 and 2024.

Early life Charr is the son of a Syrian father and a Lebanese mother; he has claimed he was born in Beirut, Lebanon, but official record-keepers list his birthplace as Homs, Syria.

Charr defended his WBC International Silver heavyweight title against Yakup Saglam in Galaţi, Romania on February 22, 2013.

He turned up to the post-fight press conference of the David Haye vs. Derek Chisora fight on 14 July 2012 in order to challenge the victorious Haye. Charr and Haye agreed to fight at Manchester Arena on 29 June 2013, but on 14 May, Haye pulled out due to a hand injury sustained in training. Haye went on to agree to fight undefeated Tyson Fury instead on 28 September, but that bout was also cancelled.

Charr improved his record to 26–1 with wins over Oleksiy Mazikin, Dennis Bakhtov and Kevin Johnson, before challenging highly-ranked Alexander Povetkin on 30 May 2014 for the vacant WBC International title in Moscow, Russia. Charr lost the bout by seventh-round knockout, suffering his second career loss.

Charr's fight against Povetkin was the first of five consecutive bouts that subsequently took place in Russia, the last of which was a brutal one-punch fifth-round knockout defeat to Mairis Breidis on 22 August 2015 in Grozny, Chechnya.

After improving to 30–4, Charr faced Alexander Ustinov for the vacant WBA (Regular) title in Oberhausen, Germany on 25 November 2017, and won by unanimous decision. Despite the "Regular" title being secondary to the WBA's "Super" title which at the time was held by Anthony Joshua, the victory nonetheless meant that Charr was the first German heavyweight world champion in 85 years.

A few days before Charr was scheduled to defend his WBA (Regular) title against Fres Oquendo in September 2018, Charr tested positive for drostanolone and trenbolone, and as a result the fight was cancelled.

In January 2021, Charr was stripped of his WBA (Regular) title due to inactivity. More than 3 years since he last fought, Charr returned to the ring on 15 May 2021 and recorded his 32nd career victory, with a second-round knockout of undefeated Christopher Lovejoy. Following extensive litigation with the WBA, Charr's title was restored on 31 August 2023 as part of a court settlement, and he was ordered to defend against Jarrell Miller by 14 October of that year, with the winner to face the next highest contender. This came just five days after the WBA eliminated the "regular" title in a consolidation bout that was part of the organization's efforts to reduce the number of champions per division. The 14 October deadline came and went, the fight with Miller failing to materialize due to reported financial issues. As a result, the WBA granted Charr a 60-day extension to find a new opponent.

Eventually, Charr was scheduled to fight Kubrat Pulev in Bulgaria on March 30, 2024. Charr tore his bicep in training and fight was postponed until September. The fight eventually took place on 7 December 2024 in Sofia, Bulgaria, with Pulev winning a unanimous points decision and the WBA (Regular) title.

Personal life In 2015, an altercation at a kebab shop in Essen, Germany led to a drive-by shooting which left Charr shot four times in the abdomen and forced to undergo emergency surgery that night to save his life. Charr was dining with rapper Kay One at the time of the incident, which occurred following an argument with an online troll who had been abusing the boxer for some weeks. The perpetrator, whom Charr identified to police, turned himself in to the police. Charr underwent double-hip replacement surgery in May 2017.

Charr announced on social media that on April 24, 2024 his first son was born in the Kings College Hospital of Dubai.

Professional boxing record

Viewership International Date Fight Country Network Viewers Source 8 September 2012 Vitali Klitschko vs. Manuel Charr Germany RTL Television 8,750,000 Total viewership 8,750,000