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Leonard Doroftei Dorin began boxing at the age of 15, and within
a year became a member of Romania’s
junior national team. As
an amateur he compiled a stunning record of 239-15, while capturing
the 1995 World Championships, the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Bronze Medals,
and the 1995 and 1996 European Championships.
On April 24, 1998—after
relocating to Montreal, Canada—Dorin
defeated Jerry Villareal for a successful pro debut (W 4).
After decisioning Martin Aubut on May
5, 1998, Dorin was matched against former New York Golden
Gloves champion Sean Knight.
Dorin stunned the Westchester, NY
crowd by dropping Knight in the second round on his way to winning
a six round decision (W 6).
Five victories later Dorin returned to New
York on April
30, 1999, to challenge for his first professional title—the
WBC Continental Americas jr. welterweight championship.
Dorin dominated Dillon Carew for 12 rounds to capture a well-deserved
decision (W 12).
After defeating his next two opponents, Dorin capped 1999
with a 10 round decision victory over veteran Verdell Smith, a fighter
whose resume includes bouts against such notables as former world
champion “Jesse” James Leija, and former top contender
Oba Carr.
On April 6, 2000,
Dorin won a split-decision victory over Gustavo Cuello (W 10). The tough, rugged Cuello had gone
the distance with current WBC jr. lightweight champion Floyd Mayweather,
Jr. in April 1998.
On July 21, 2001,
Dorin sparkled in front of a national television audience, pummeling
fellow rising-contender Martin O’Malley in the opening broadcast
of ShoBox: The New Generation.
O’Malley, who entered the ring 17-0, 14 KO’s,
was unable to nullify Dorin’s relentless pressure.
Dorin opened cuts above both O’Malley’s eyes and
bloodied the tough Irishmen’s nose.
In round nine Dorin wobbled O’Malley with a left hook,
and then dropped him with a combination. O’Malley rose to his feet
and managed to survive the round, but only to watch as referee Tony
Orlando stopped the bout between rounds, citing “too many punches”
(TKO 9).
On September 28,
2001, Dorin captured the biggest win of his career by
whipping Emanuel Augustus, the boxer formerly known as Emanuel Burton,
on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights.”
Dorin outworked Augustus with an unremitting body attack
that forced Augustus to backpedal for most of the bout. The final scorecards reflected
the lopsided victory:
100-90, 99-90, and 98-92. Dorin’s dominance impressed
many boxing insiders, particularly since Augustus’ previous
bout was a split-decision loss to Mickey Ward in a contest that
many consider 2001’s “Fight of the Year.”
In his last bout on January
5, 2002, Dorin attained his dream by outworking defending
champion Raul Balbi to win the WBA lightweight crown (W 12). In a bout sure to receive “Fight
of the Year” nominations, Dorin and Balbi traded bombs from
the opening bell at a feverish pace.
Dorin surged ahead late in the bout, dominating the last
four rounds to win a split decision by the scores of 115-112, 114-113,
and 112-115.
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