The short version
- Brage Lange (25), 202 cm tall and with an impressive reach, debuts as a professional boxer
- Lange meets Georgian Gerasim Aduasvili (8 wins, 20 losses) in Sentrum Scene in Oslo on April 6
- Cruiserweight Kevin Melhus (11 wins, no losses) headlines Pascal Wolters (11 wins, one loss)
- Lange won the Norwegian championship in super heavyweight as an amateur in both 2022 and last year
- His goal is to become Norway’s best heavyweight boxer of all time, and bets on four fights in 2024
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– For being so big, I’m not as clumsy as you might think. I am quite athletic, can do wheelies and jump around – in addition to moving well, Lange describes to VG.
The boxer from Sunndalsøra has definitely grown up to live up to his surname, and after all, it’s not easy to turn a wheel with a body over two metres.
– I dare not show it now for fear of injuries right before the debut, says Lange with a twinkle in his eye.
On Saturday 6 April, Lange will meet Georgian Gerasim Aduasjvili (8 wins, 20 losses) at the VG+ Sport-broadcast event in Sentrum Scene in Oslo.
– Enormous joy
Cruiserweight Kevin Melhus (11 wins, no losses) has the main fight against German Pascal Wolters (11 wins, one loss), and in addition the Norwegians Alexander Martinsen (4–0) and Sayed Kazemi (debutant) will be in action.
– I don’t have a very long amateur career, but boxing is all I care about right now. It gives me immense pleasure, says Lange who, despite his enormous reach, still has some distance left to the South African Ewart Potgieter who was active in the 1950s.
Brage Lange
- Born: 28.07.1998 (25 years)
- Height: 202 cm
- Range: 212 cm
- Fighting weight: About 115 kg
- Has two NM golds as a senior in super heavyweight (+92 kg)
- Debuts as a professional boxer at a convention in Sentrum Scene on 6 April
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He was 218 cm tall and had a reach of a whopping 239 cm – measured from the tip of the middle finger to the tip of the middle finger when the boxer stood with his arms straight.
Of more famous boxers, it can be mentioned that the current linear heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has a reach of 216 cm. But boxing is about more than reach, and Mike Tyson did his business well with “only” 180 cm…
Lange has 212 cm from the tip of the middle finger to the tip of the middle finger when he extends his arms.
The height and reach of heavyweight boxers
- Ewart Potgieter 218 cm/239 cm
- Gogea Mitu 224/236 **
- Julius Long 216/229
- Michael Grant 201/218
- Nikolaj Valuev 213/216
- Tyson Fury 206/216
- Efe Ajagba 198/216
- Lennox Lewis 196/213
- Sonny Liston 185/213
- Brage Long 202/212
- Deontay Wilder 201/211
- Buster Douglas 192/211
- Anthony Joshua 198/208
- Hasim Rahman 189/208
- Wladimir Klitschko 198/206
- Riddick Bowe 196/206
- Larry Holmes 190/206
- Vitali Klitschko 201/203
- Shannon Briggs 193/203
- George Foreman 191/199
- Evander Holyfield 189/198
- Michael Moorer 188/198
- Muhammad Ali 191/198
- Oleksandr Usyk 191/198
- Michael Spinks 189/193
- Leon Spinks 185/193
- Joe Frazier 182/185
- Ingemar Johansson 184/183
- Floyd Patterson 183/180
- Mike Tyson 178/180
- Rocky Marciano 179/173
** Mitu only boxed two fights (1935) but won both.
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In addition to long arms, Lange also has good physical skills, and he did not start boxing until his late teens. The 25-year-old grew up playing football for Sunndal IL. When he moved with his mother to Oslo as an 18-year-old, he became interested in martial arts.
See Lange having the job of “punisher” for Oskar Westerlin:
– I was very fascinated by MMA (mixed martial arts, editor’s note) and UFC, but it was boxing that became my thing, explains the 25-year-old who was part of IF Ørnulf Boksing in Oslo for a long time.
The large fighter became Norwegian champion in super heavyweight (+92 kg) as an amateur in both 2022 and last year. Now there will be professional debuts with former professional boxer Alexander Hagen in the corner.
– Brage is very athletic and mobile in relation to his size. He is good at using his legs and utilizing his reach, but if he is pressed, he is also good at boxing on the inside, coach Hagen praises.
– The fact that he does not have a very long amateur background can also be positive, because he is more malleable in style towards a professional career. He is willing to learn and easy to work with, says Hagen.
– I have a lofty goal of becoming Norway’s best heavyweight boxer throughout history. I am aware that Steffen Tangstad played in the World Cup and was very good, Lange grins.
Tangstad competed for both EC and WC heavyweight titles in the 1980s. His only two losses came in the EC title match against Anders Eklund and the WC duel against Michael Spinks in 1986.
Tangstad also won the EC match against Lucien Rodriguez in 1984.
Now coach Hagen and student Lange are hoping for a new heavyweight adventure. Initially, they are betting on a new fight during the summer, and hopefully also a couple of opportunities in the ring during the autumn.
– If I get four games in 2024, that’s good, and it gives me a good foundation. Now I just have to focus on this, says Lange, who works a bit as a coach alongside his own career.
Tags: Professional boxer Brage Lange extreme physique acrobatic
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