After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Henry Maske made boxing socially acceptable and popular in Germany. On Saturday the “gentleman” celebrates his 60th birthday.
He was never a loudspeaker. Neither in the boxing ring that shaped his life nor outside of it. And so Henry Maske celebrates his 60th birthday on Saturday (January 6th, 2024) rather quietly, in his adopted home of Overath with his family and a few friends.
Maske preferred to let his fists do the talking and they told an extremely successful story from the start. The Brandenburg native, trained in the GDR sports system, has already had a sparkling amateur career. The southpaw Maske celebrated 163 victories in 181 fights.
Olympic victory in 1988 as a springboard
The highlight: Olympic victory in Seoul in 1988 in the light heavyweight division. “The Olympic victory is something incredibly significant. It’s in the chest and in the head”said Maske shortly before his big birthday.
And he came at the perfect time. The fall of the Berlin Wall a year later enabled the then 25-year-old to do something that would not have been possible in the GDR: the switch to the professionals. Promoter Wilfried Sauerland signed him. With trainer Manfred Wolke and private television, his career took off.
“Together with Manfred Wolke, we had the courage to take a path that was completely new to us.”remembers Mask. “In the end, our courage was worth it.”
| Amateur successes Henry Maske |
|---|
Olympic champion 1988 |
World champion 1989 |
European champion 1985, 1987, 1989 |
The “gentleman” becomes professional world champion
In his 20th professional fight, Maske won the IBF light heavyweight title against the American Chris Williams in 1993 – and didn’t give it up for three years. Mask never stood for adrenaline and testosterone boxing. With his very good technical training and strong right hand, he was more of a man for the judges – a “gentleman”, as his fighting name says.
1993 – Henry Maske becomes professional light heavyweight world champion.
Spectacular fight against Rocchigiani
It actually only got really spectacular once. On May 27, 1995, Maske faced his compatriot Graciano Rocchigiani in Dortmund’s Westfalenhalle. The man from Duisburg, who died in 2018, embodied the complete opposite of the “gentleman”. Raw, simple, brutal.
1995 – Close World Championship fight between Maske (r.) and Rocchigiani.
The two fought a ring battle over 12 rounds. 18 million viewers watched it live on television. In the end, Maske won narrowly and not without controversy after 12 rounds on points. “I say: I won.” Maske still insists on this today.
First defeat in the penultimate fight
Maske then clearly won the rematch almost six months later. Of his 32 professional fights, he only lost one. But this defeat was particularly painful. At the end of 1996, Maske had to admit defeat on points to WBA world champion Virgil Hill (USA) in the unification fight. What was supposed to be the crowning achievement of his career became the greatest defeat.
But he ironed those out too. Eleven years later, at the age of 43, Maske got into the ring again with Hill in Munich and won his last professional fight – of course after 12 rounds on points.
| Professional balance sheet Henry Maske | |
|---|---|
Fights | 32 |
Victories | 31 |
Wins by knockout | 11 |
Defeats | 1 |
World Cup fights | 12 |
World Cup victories | 11 |
From boxer to businessman
“Sport has had an incredible impact on me. I’m always connected to it in some way. Things that go along with it are still my companions. The personal development, the profile, the way of dealing with things.”says Maske today.
The boxer became the businessman. Maske operated up to ten fast food restaurants in the Rhineland region, including directly opposite the BayArena in Leverkusen. He gradually sold his locations, the last one in 2019, before the corona pandemic.
Privateer and investor
Somehow, as in his active career, Maske got the timing right. With a view to his career and life, he is humble today and says: “I got far more than I ever expected.”
2023 – Henry Maske at a gala.
Now he is primarily a private citizen and keeps himself fit, just as he has learned to do all his life. And he still has a connection to boxing. Most recently, he invested in an Aachen start-up that develops technology for boxing to better measure movements. As a “gentleman” in his active days, he would have been the perfect measurement object.