WELCOME to a new series from Boxing News, where we take a deep dive into the catalogue of ‘national pioneers’, each of whom is hoping to become the first-ever male world champion from their respective nations.
In this inaugural edition, we will be taking a look at Slovakian boxing and speaking to a fighter who is aiming to lead the way and be the first to claim a recognised world title from the underperforming neighbours of the contrasting pugilistic powerhouse of Ukraine.
Back in 1992, Slovakia became an independent nation, originally as the Slovak Republic, but even before they and the Czech Republic parted ways, there had not been an official world champion from the country of Czechoslovakia in the history of professional boxing.
At present, the Slovak who arguably had the most success is Galanta-born Tamas Kovacs, 27-2 (16 KOs), who hung up the gloves in 2016 after suffering a second career defeat to a 6-12-2 Giorgi Beroshvili.
Nicknamed ‘Tomi Kid’, Kovacs claimed the WBO European light-heavyweight title when he outpointed Hamza Wandera on home soil in 2011. From there, Kovacs would continue to tick over in lower-quality contests whilst awaiting a major opportunity and that opportunity came almost three years later when he went toe-to-toe with Beibut Shumenov for the WBA light-heavyweight title in December 2013.
This encounter saw Kovacs become the first Slovakian to partake in a world title fight, but unfortunately for him and his country, defending champion Shumenov proved to be far too much of a jump up in levels and dropped the challenger in each of the first three rounds, with the referee calling an end to the bout in the third round.
Kazakhstan’s Shumenov would go on to lose a split decision in an entertaining unification bout with the legendary Bernard Hopkins in his next outing, an opportunity that Kovacs would likely have earned if he had pulled off the upset – but the world level was ultimately a step too far.
These days, Slovakia remains a barren land in terms of world champion production, with a lack of investment and inspiration making the path to even becoming a professional boxer an arduous and scarce one – never mind an elite world champion.
Still, there are a few hopefuls who are eager to bring hope to the next generation, none more so than undefeated middleweight contender Marian Dzupka, 14-0 (9 KOs), who believes the lack of promoters in his homeland to be the main stumbling block to Slovakian success.
“So far, no Slovak has won the world title, with all modesty, I believe that I will succeed.
“Slovakia has weak diplomacy in the world of boxing, we have no promoters, I box myself under a Czech promoter, but it is no glory. I’m still waiting for an opportunity to show the world that even Slovakia can succeed in the world of boxing.
“We have enough trainers and gyms, but we don’t have any promoter who could finance the boxers and provide them with adequate preparation for the fight.
“MMA is popular, so companies mainly sponsor MMA fighters and there is no interest in boxing, but if a champion was born from our country, it would definitely be a game changer.
“It is easy for the young generation in England. Many champions have already trodden the path. Slovakia is awaiting someone whom others could follow.
“Slovakia has several quality fighters who would break through in the world of boxing if given the opportunity. If the boxer does not have enough funds and opportunities to improve, then the skills will not be enough.
“However, if there was a promoter in our country who would give boxers the opportunity to improve and earn enough money to live by boxing, the quality of boxing in Slovakia would certainly increase many times.”
A five-time national amateur champion and an ever-present member of team Slovakia at the European and World Championships, switch-hitting Dzupka finished an impressive amateur career with a record of 76-9, but even he found little opportunity to succeed professionally.
Instead, ‘Super Majo’ made the move first to Switzerland, where he worked in construction alongside his training, before getting an offer from a promoter in Liechtenstein, living and training amongst more recognised and skilled fighters such as Osleys Iglesias and Dylan Moran.
With things finally beginning to look up for Dzupka, he was brought crashing back down to reality when he was twice robbed of his biggest fight offers to date, the first of which would have seen him take on recent IBF super-middleweight world title challenger, Michael Eifert, but instead his misfortunes saw him head back to Switzerland.
“I received an offer to box on 8/23/2020 for the IBF junior world title in Germany against Michael Eifert. I was ready, hungry and determined to win. I thought it was the chance of a lifetime and the moment I had been praying for all my life. But the German promoter decided that, because it was a fight on TV, the Germans would want to see a German against a German, not a Slovak.
“This made me angry, and I lost my motivation.
“Due to Covid, the promoter [in Liechtenstein] fired us and closed the gym. Everyone returned to their native country, but I am Slovak, and no future awaited me in Slovakia. So, I continued my training in Switzerland.
“One day, a Matchmaker from Mexico wrote to me on messenger asking if I was interested in a WBO junior world champion fight against Anthony Martinez in Miami. I thought it was the jackpot. I immediately stopped working and trained full time.
“After three weeks in training and 13 days away from my fight I got Covid. Fevers, zero energy and another chance gone. I thought this was the end of my career.”
Following an inactive 2024, Dzupka is keen for a productive 2025 and to take the necessary steps towards achieving a world ranking. First, he is scheduled to collide with Lukas Ferneza, 5-2 (3 KOs), who is a far tougher opponent than his record suggests, for the Slovakian super-middleweight title.
Like Dzupka, Ferneza boasts a solid amateur pedigree and only lost to two-time European title challenger Emre Cukur by a singular point in his most recent outing, which took place on away soil in Germany.
With facilities worsening and his country desperately in need of a man to get behind, Dzupka aims to prove that success can be achieved from any walk of life and that by achieving his goal, he can aid Slovakian boxing for years to come, should he first get past Ferneza.
“I come from a small town where we didn’t even have a gym and my training conditions were very poor, but that gives me strength and hope to continue training so that I can show one day that it doesn’t matter where you come from or what country you are from, always follow your dreams.
“With a record of 14-0, I believe that some promoter will give me a chance to prove myself and help me become a world champion and win a world belt. If that happens one day, I will stop boxing and devote myself to the children and youth of our region, so that every child gets a chance to become a world champion in boxing, a chance that I have worked so hard for many years.”
Dzupka will get his career back underway against Ferenza on Friday, February 7, at the Boby Centrum in Brno, Czech Republic – further proof of the lack of interest in boxing in Slovakia.
Aside from Dzupka, Slovakia can look towards Viliam Tanko, 5-0 (3 KOs), who turned over to the professional scene in 2023 after notching wins over the likes of Radoslav Rosenov, Joe Tyers, Assan Hansen and Roland Veres as an amateur. The super-lightweight has somewhat followed in Dzupka’s footsteps by fighting all but one of his bouts in the Czech Republic – although he is yet to be tested against an opponent with a winning record.
Among the amateurs, there could be another future contender, with Andrej Csemez being a possible torchbearer down the line. Training at the KO Box Club in Galenta (opened by the aforementioned Tamas Kovacs), Csemez picked up a bronze medal at the 2019 European Games and scored an eye-catching win over eventual 2024 USA national champion Robby Gonzales at the Olympic qualifiers earlier this year.
Yet, with little opportunity or promotional backing available, ‘Bandi’ may find himself running into similar issues as Dzupka if he makes the switch to the professional ranks anytime soon and could prove to be the latest victim of Slovakia’s lack of boxing interest unless he ventures elsewhere or investment and engagement in his home country changes dramatically.