ROMAN DZUMAN: Fighting with God
and two iron fists
By Olaf Schroeder
22.11.01
- When Roman Dzuman, almost unnoticed on the undercard,
made his way to the ring in a small Polish city for
his debut fight as a professional boxer in June of
2000, ringsiders could be forgiven for assuming that
the young Ukrainian was just one of many trying their
luck in the prize ring. They saw his boyish looks,
but did not know much about his extensive background
as an amateur boxer. Just minutes later, fans witnessed
what his iron fists can achieve when they left his
opponent prone on the canvas in the second round -
setting up a career journey that is yet to reach its
pinnacle.
Born on February 18, 1976 in the Ukrainian
city of Lwow, Roman began boxing as an 11-year-old
and served notice of his potential by winning the
Ukrainian youth championship in 1993. Instantly, he
was called upon to represent his country - which he
subsequently did for the next four years - and won
a silver medal at the Istanbul world championships
soon after, firmly establishing his arrival on the
international circuit. Shortly after winning the European
Cup in 1999, Dzuman crossed the border to Poland to
meet Warsaw manager and promoter Krzysztof Zbarski.
Quickly and quitely, a deal was struck for Roman to
sign a professional contract with Zbarski's company
Polish Boxing Promotion, which had established itself
in no time as one of East Europe's leading promotional
firms.
Within one year of turning pro, Dzuman
amassed a fine record of 10-0 with seven victories
via knockout, fighting in Polish, Dutch and Hungarian
rings. His impressive destruction of former European
title challenger Ferenc Szakallas earned him the right
to contest the vacant IBO Intercontinental championship.
Never having travelled more than five rounds previously,
the up-starting welterweight faced experienced Argentinian
Walter Fabian Saporiti for the title - over 12 rounds!
But any worries his trainer Dmytro Sosnovskiy might
have had were quickly dispatched: Roman cleverly avoided
the most dangerous offerings of his determined Buenos
Aires adversary, showed excellent stamina and outpunched
Saporiti to collect a unianimous decision and with
it clinch his first professional title. That in turn
gave Roman a good ranking with the European Boxing
Union.
As ferocious and dangerous Roman Dzuman
is in the ring, outside of it he is a very kind, polite
and friendly young man who belies the often sullen
reputation that some fighters have. That, he says,
is thanks to his strong belief in God: "He helps
me to achieve my dreams in boxing." Dzuman is
also supported by his long-time girlfriend Nataly,
a French-Ukrainian. Jokingly, Roman says: "Sometimes,
she's tougher than my rivals in the ring, but at the
end of the day, with Nataly's Ukrainian beauty complimenting
her French charm, we both end up winners."